Pokemon Untouched Crystal: Finding Hope
by Andrew the Pichu that has Fire
Summary: Athony is not an average college student; an orphan, an insane genius, and video game lover. When his only friend, Nathan, is murdered myseriously, what will happen when the game that he's given by his dead companion leads him to be sucked into the game itself? T for slight violence, language, and mention of death/suicide.
1. Prologue: Life of Dispair

**I had this and _really _wanted to update this sooner that Monday (my one of the days on my new update schedule). It took me almost a _week _to type this all (my finger got burned too) so you can probably see I am _not _going to want to wait two days just to do this. This isn't _exactly_ what I usually write, so it's going to be a bit different than what I usually do. Sorry for my constant rambling, please enjoy.**

_**DISCLAIMER: I wanna be, the very best! Like no- er... I don't own Pokemon... =_=**_

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Nathan Tucker Rutavis", read the newly carved tombstone, "November 2, 2042, lost but not forgotten." I stood alone in the snow-riddled graveyard that morning, like a single black raven on a blank canvas. _I don't understand...,_ I thought quietly. I raised my fist in front of me and uncurled my fingers to reveal a square game cartridge titled 'Pokemon Untouched Crystal Version' that shone in the moonlight.

_And of all things, he gave this to me..._

My name is Athony Ethis Watarus and I am nineteen years old. Nearly every person I've ever met has made the mistake of calling me Anthony, but I've grown to not care anymore. One month ago, my one and only friend Nathan went missing around the end of September without a trace. He was a year older than me and taller by about a few inches or so. He liked to spike his hair into a sort of skater's style and wore a thick pair of glasses that always hid his unusual amber-violet eyes with it's sensitive gleams. He was a very lively child and extremely confident, unlike myself as I rarely spoke to anyone and spent my time in an old treehouse.

We just so happened to meet on the first day of fourth grade, he was a new transfer student from Germany and everyone adored him. Honestly when he first appeared, I thought he was nothing but an attention hog who only lived to be fawned over, so I just ignored him as I did with everyone else. That afternoon when all the children went outside for recess, I was alone inside of the classroom, drawing pictures like I always did. Art was something I had quite an interest in, I was always very creative and I sometimes got inspiration from the schizophrenia I've always had since I was five. What I loved to draw the most were characters from video games made nearly thirty years ago I always enjoyed playing. My father owned a game store before he passed away five years ago, he always brought home Playstations and DS lites no one else wanted, I immediately fell in love with them. My favorite series by far was Pokemon, it was such a wonderful RPG I could entertain myself with for hours. I was doodling a small picture of a leaf turtle animal that day, using light greens and tans to color it in.

"That's a Turtwig, right? It's the grass starter of Sinnoh.", came a young voice with a light European accent. I was startled to see the blonde boy standing next to me with an innocent expression. Another reason no one ever talked to me was because one second I would be nice and silent, and the next I would snap at them in a hostile manner. It wasn't completely my fault, I developed multiple personalities and became anti-social because of how I was always by myself as a young child, or at least that's what all the doctors told me.

I didn't say anything to him, I only glared with a cold and quiet expression. He was either not paying attention to me, or a complete idiot because he kept on running his mouth like nothing was wrong, "I didn't think I'd find anyone in Ontario who played the same games as me. Many kids like to play 3DS Turbo's these days. I'm Nathan, what about you?" I was a completely shocked, no one had ever attempted to get to know me before, I wasn't even sure how I was supposed to react. I did the only thing I could think of and I ran away, leaving him and the picture behind. I wasn't sure if he followed me all the way to the washroom or not, but I locked the stall door and sat on the toilet with my knees held to my chest tightly for assurance. _I think that's the first time anyone has wanted to talk to me..._ I've always been so neglected and forgotten, it was only normal for me to end up as an anti-social mute, I didn't think anyone would actually care though.

_Maybe it's a trick to lead me into a false sense of security, it's not the first time it's happened. I don't think I can trust him..._

The next day during German class (what a coincidence) the teacher decided to have Nathan sit next to me and made us partners on a major assignment as well (she was one of the very few people who tried and failed to make me 'play well with others'). Of course he wasn't as interested in the assignment as he was with me, being more persistent that I thought. "I heard that people said you don't talk at all and even smarter than the fifth graders." I didn't reply to him and wrote the translation for 'O ein mist!', trying desperately not to lose my temper. It's actually true what he said if you can believe it, ever since kindergarden I've always been given the option to skip a grade, but I've always declined so that I could be with people who were at least the same age as me. "I like the picture you drew yesterday, I still have it if you want it back." After a moment of silence, he sighed, "I don't think you're listening to me, are you?" My patience was dwindling fast to the point my pencil broke in half from the amount of pressure I had applied to it, "I'm capable of speech, I'm just trying to focus on my work.", I told him as calmly as I could manage as I reached into my bag for a pen. "Oh, okay.", he said with his disappointment shining as clear as day. He started actually doing what he was supposed to do, satisfied with just hearing me speak I could guess.

He wasn't all too bad in the language class (well, he _is_ German) and was almost better than me (though I will never admit to that if ever asked). "You look like Gold from Johto, almost exactly like him.", Nathan told me a few minutes before class would end. He was right about that, I had black hair styled so that my bangs on my right almost came over my face and the left was brushed back. My eyes were a light honey brown, some people have mistaken them to be amber sometimes, besides the clothes and personality, I could probably be his twin. "You've played Heart Gold and Soul Silver, right? They're my favorite next to Sacred Sapphire, I've played a few of the other games too." I didn't say another word to him for the rest of the day, no matter how much he pestered me. It was odd for someone to speak to me with as much comfort as he did.

I didn't like it, but for some reason it actually felt... pleasant. I never adjusted well to change, so my actions my not have been perfect for the situation. I walked home by myself just as I always did in those days, when I went inside the kitchen in my house, my mother was there making soup. She had her long, chestnut strands tied into a bun like she always did after cleaning. She gave me a warm, loving smile as she welcomed me home, "Hey Athony, did you have a good day at school?" Mom was probably the only person I could confide in but I didn't want to mention anything about Nathan, it was bad enough I had the displeasure to meet him, "It was good, we finished creating computers out of old parts, it was fun. I'll be up in the treehouse if you need me." "Alright kiddo, dinner'll be done in a few hours.", she replied sweetly. We've always had an unspoken understanding, she respects the fact I like to have a lot of time to myself and she doesn't ask questions about it. I'm not sure if it's because she can easily relate to me with her terrible mental illnesses she's had since dad died or if she felt sorry for me, she just knew it was better to leave me alone. I made my way to the backyard and climbed the wooden boards of the tree supporting the small shack along the branches. The inside was much larger than it appeared, there was enough space for a small wireless TV, a few dusty game systems, a large shelf for cartridges, a couple bean bags, and a small cat bed in the corner I left for the ginger tabby, Hades, that came in and out randomly. I let out a tired breath as I dropped my my backpack near the entrance and plopped onto one of the large balls of fluff. I reached over to the brown, scratched up MP3 player and slipped the clunky headphones over my ears to hear the soft melody of a guitar and steady beats of a drum in the background. _I feel so exhausted, I don't even want to move... at least I don't have to see him until tomorrow..._

As if my luck couldn't get any worse, the little devil I had in mind appeared in front of me with a large grin, "Hello!" I made a small yelp and rolled onto the floor, shocked by his sudden outburst. I nearly ripped the headphones off my head and growled at him with a great amount of hate, "What are you doing here?" "The teacher said I should work with you on the project after school, so she gave me your address.", Nathan replied in his happy-go-lucky way. _Is he serious? Does he really have nothing better to do than stalk me?_ He took a blank poster and a pack of markers out of his bag and handed them to me, "You can do the drawings if you want, you're a lot better than me. I'll do the translations." I accepted the materials and took the cap off the red marker, _Well, I should just get this over with so he can leave..._ "Your mother was really nice to me and sad I could even stay over for dinner! Isn't that great?" _I'm now starting to wonder if he's purposely doing this to give me an ulcer..._

We diligently worked on the assignment, so it didn't take us too long to finish all the work. I didn't know that working with others could make the job so easy, I always have done things by myself because nobody would even talk to me. "Hey, is this a Wii?", Nathan asked, who was starting up the system without my permission, "Mien Bruder has one, but he never lets me touch it." "Hey wait! You can't just-" "Cool, you even have Smash Brothers! Let's play it, it will be fun!" I didn't even know it was physically possible for someone to make a face like that I couldn't refuse for anything, I _still_ wonder how that is possible. I groaned, "Fine, you're lucky I have two remotes..." After getting the wiimotes and nunchucks set up, we started the game and got to the characters select screen. I wordlessly selected Meta Knight, the round, indigo swordsman (even though he isn't human) who wore a metal mask. Nathan on the other hand was having difficulty choosing, "Oh, there are so many to pick, I don't know who I should be... What do you think?" No one has ever asked me to decide something for them, it was a bit strange that someone would do that, at least it was to me. "Um, Toon Link... I guess?", I replied unsurely. "Great! He's my favorite."

Right before the match started, he took off his glasses and stared at the screen with his mixed gold/mauve eyes, filled with joy, "My eyesight is so unusually good, I have to wear these because it hurts sometimes to see too well." I've heard about people with certain blood types have better senses, but I never thought it was true. Then again, I never did find out Nathan's blood type either. The fight began, we appeared on the Spear Pillar stage that often is disrupted with some destruction of platforms and gravitational changes when a few certain legendaries appear, and coincidently, Dialga was already standing on the stage. I was about to open with a smash attack, but was quickly cut of by a bomb thrown by Toon Link. Before I could even move again, My opponent continuously struck me at a great speed with the Master Sword, I was genuinely shocked, "Have you played this before?" Nathan shook his head, "No, I've watched other people and learned from them. It's not that hard once you know what their doing." _He seems to be much more intelligent than I give him credit for... I wonder..._ I still can't believe it took us an hour just for someone to die once.

We were mashing buttons like crazy to the point our health was in the 500's (we had to start avoiding each other and resort to sneaky tricks just to get in hits), but the tie breaker was a tiny smash ball I was skillful enough to catch. After Toon Link became a star in the sky from Meta Knight's veil of darkness, the one stock match was over and the television screen portrayed me as the winner. "Wow, that was amazing! You're really good at this!", the defeated blond smiled. I just blinked at him in confusion, I didn't understand why he was praising me though he was the loser, it didn't make sense at all. "T-thank... you?" I was expecting for him to beg for a rematch, but instead he went to dig through his bag for something I knew not of. He pulled out a lime colored DS lite with a game already inserted in it, then came to sit next to me again. "I forgot I brought this, do you have a DS?", he asked. I nodded, "Um, yes... I'll... go get it..." I turned off the electronics we were finished playing with and took my coal DSiXL containing Soul Silver in it from the shelf. "So, er... what did you want to do?", I asked as I rejoined Nathan, feeling more out of place than usual. "Do you have either of the Johto remakes with you? I was thinking we could play a Wi-Fi game." _Huh, lucky I've already got it with_ _me..._ I selected the game icon as it popped up on the touch screen, I could tell Nathan had the counterpart of my version when I heard the sound of Ho-oh's cry on his start menu.

My last sve was around the entrance of Dragon Den (I wanted to battle along side my favorite character against Lance and Clair), so I surfed across the water with my female Tentacruel I named Hera, and made my character go into the basment of the Pokemon Center. I talked to the girl I knew who took you to play with other trainers, but I wasn't sure what option to pick... "Um, I don't know what I'm supposed to- I m-mean, I don't really like playing on Wi-Fi, so I don't remember how to get on sometimes...", I said, trying my best not to be to obvious about my limited knowledge of multiplayers. Nathan scooted closer and took the system from my hands, then began pressing away at the buttons, "That's okay, let me help you." In seconds, the upper screen became a light azure with a few well known pokemon as it loaded. My DS was very old and beat up from it's last owner, so it always took a while to connect to anything.

"It's funny...", the German thought out loud. "What is?" "You're always so quiet and determined like Gold and you look just like him, but you take on more of the rival, Silver's, personality. I can see it clearly in both of you; strong, independent... but you really seem like a lonely guy. Everyone told me they don't like you because you're different and not a good person, but I don't believe that.", he gave me a comforting grin as he handed me back my handheld, "I hope you and I can be friends Athony."

Back then, I couldn't wrap my head around it. _He's not like everyone else_, I always thought, _He can see through my whole facade like nothing. He doesn't shun me like the others... it's like he knows how it feels, how I feel._ As the days and weeks went by, I began to notice how attached we'd become. First, we'd always sit next to eachother in class and be partners for every assignment we could, then we even started hanging out all the time and having sleepovers like I'd always seen on television. That's when I learned that he too lost his father at a young age, and his only younger brother too, but he would never go into detail about it.

When all of the other childern started to see our friendship develop, one by one they stopped talking to Nathan. I felt guilty about it, _I'm his only friend now, he lost all the other ones because of me. Now he's going to abandon me and I'll be all alone again..._ Once I had gathered enough courage, I went as far as to confront him with the problem. To my surprise, he laughed, "To be honest, I don't care. If they were really my friends, they would accept you as well. You don't have to worry, I'll always stand by your side, until the end. As long as you're with me, I'm happy." It wasn't what I expected at all, his words washed away all my doubt and it made me feel safe, a foreign emotion to me at the time. I've never been able to speak with someone so freely, not since my father passed away. I wasn't scared anymore, I wasn't afraid of being alone either, I was truely happy for the first time in my life. But sadly, it all started to change for the worst the winter of that same year...

My mother and I were driving home from the awards ceremony they held at my school that Saturday afternoon. Of course Nathan and I both got the hights amount of honors (including envious glares of other students), amongst the whole school even. Mom was telling me how proud she was of me as she drove, but then a blizzard started twirling around out of nowhere. "Ugh, the only bad thing about living in Canada this time of year is the weather.", she groaned while turning on the windsheild wipers. I looked out the window and sighed at the white winterland, "The snow is as thick as fog, I don't think i-", I never got the chance to finish that sentence because I was interuppted by the car flying and flipping in the air violently. Before I could process what was going on, my head banged against hard metal, than everything faded to black.

When I finally came to, I was in a hostpital bed with my head and right arm covered in bandages. _W-why am I here? I can't remember what happened..._ A cheery ginger nurse came in and started changing the IV pouch connected to my arm, "Good to see you're awake sweetie, we thought you'd never wake up, it's been three days since you were brought in." _Th-three days? But what- oh, I was in the car with mother and... wait, is she..._ "Do you know where my mother is?", I asked innocently. The girl stopped smiling and gave me a dissappointed, sympathetic look, "O-oh, hun... I-I'm sorry, but-" "It's alright, I understand. I had a feeling, but I just wasn't sure...", I whispered calmly. "Are you okay? Do you need anything?" I shook my head slightly, trying not to cause too much pain, "I'm fine." She seemed very surprised, maybe because of how I was handleing the situation, "O-okay, press the button on the bed remote if you need anything, I'll be there." She finished up the IV exchange and then left the room. I turned to lay on my left side to look out the window where the snow gentlely fell outside.

You know that feeling when you find out something of high importance where at first you feel completely indifferent, but then the realization sinks in a few minutes later? You can just imagine how I felt, then again, maybe you can't.

_Mom... is gone? She's not here... She... Sh-she's dead? No... She c-can't... this isn't... this isn't r-real!_ I buried my face into the pillow as my whimpering sobs were swallowed by the cotton. "No..."

Nurses and doctors came in and out of the room all the time, checking my vitals and redressing my wounds occasionally. I would barely speak a word and only look out the window with an expression that was beyond unreadable... then they would ask me that one little question, or not so little in my case. "Are you okay?" I'm not oblivious, I know what they really mean when they say that. "You just lost your mother and I'm reminding you constantly. I know you feel terrible, but I'm just going to keep asking you the same questions I already know the answer to.", that is what I heard every time. I forced myself to hold back the hot, bitter anger each and every time, only replying in a void and quiet voice, "I'm fine. I'm okay." Such a sad lie for myself. I'm not sure if my hate for pity or closed-off personality made me do so, but I continued to repeat those words over and over again to hide my weakness. By the end of the week, I was disgusted with myself for being a useless, fragile child who could do nothing but sit in a hospital bed and wallow in his misfortunes.

The next day they allowed me to have visitors. I didn't think there was anyone who could possibly want to see _me_, but then Nate showed up that day. Ever since the crash, he hadn't even crossed my mind, then again, nothing did in my zombie-like state. When he entered the room,, he was shocked by my battered body. I didn't blame him, without all the medication I was given, I wouldn't have even been able to blink without screaming in agony. "I wanted to see you sooner, but they told me you weren't in stable condition." I remaind silent, I couldn't think of much to say. "How bad are your injuries? I hope they don't hurt to badly." _Any second now he's going to say it. I have to hold it back, I have to..._ "Are you-

That was it. I let go. I couldn't control it.

"Don't say it, don't you _dare_ say it! Everyone asks that all the time "Are you okay? Are you okay?" I'm sick of it! I'm lost my family, I've been broken to peices physically and mentally, and now I'll be sent to an orphanage and never see you again! I've lost everything that I ever cared about, so you know what! _I'm not okay!_" I've never yelled at anyone before in my life, I've always been so calm and collected so there was never a reason for me to do so. I thought letting my anger free would make the terrible burden of locking away my emotions go away... but the only things I could feel was regret and hate for myself. It's true what people say, emotional pain is no where near as threatening as being hurt physically, you can't fix it with just a few herbs and medicines; it scars you for life. I hid my tearfilled eyes with my working hand in a failed attempt to not reveal my weak and ugly personality.

_I'm __such an idiot, why did I do that? Of all the people I could have set if off on, it was him! I can't beleive how stupid I am, he'll never forgive me..._ I felt the bed shake as an arm wrapped around my waist and a chin rested on my shoulder with care. I could hear Nate's kind, gentle voice in my ear as he spoke barely above a whisper, "I was going to ask if you were listening to me, I wouldn't do something that I know you'd see as insensitive. I may be ignorant sometimes, but I'm not a fool, I can see you're not alright. Not everything has slipped away from you, I am and always will be here for you, don't ever forget that. I talked to my family, they told me they will adopt you before they can put you in a foster home, so you will live with us. You can be my little brother."

Later that week I was released from the hospital and just like Nathan said, His mother became my adoptive parent. Aside from her, Nate's two older brothers stayed with us, they were all very kind to me, but I would still iscolate myself in the top of the bunk bed inside the room I shared with Nate. I wasn't the same after that, I became much more emotionally deprived and rarely show if I was happy or sad. I wouldn't eat breakfast sometimes and became skinner from missing meals in my diet. But as time went on, I was finally able to face the fact that my mother was gone, that's just the way things were, no matter how much I wanted to change it. Years passed and before we knew it, Nate and I were off to college and living together once more in a decent apartment on campus. We still weren't too sure about what we wanted to do in life, so we opted for taking random classes like advanced biology, different tech courses, and a bit of journalism on the side. What I still find amazing is that even though we had just become young adults, we still shared our passion for videogames and searched high and low for the old consoles we played on as children.

In the beginning of our second term at the university, that is when it all started, a single rumor is what caused a great deal of trouble for us. Last year, there was news of an American copy of Pokemon Untouched Crystal Version made its way to Ontario. Only there's one problem with this, the game was only ever released in _Japan_, not Europe, or Australia, or anywhere else in the world. _Just Japan._ There was a plan to have copies sold in every continent, but for some odd reason they stopped the game production. I had no doubt that this was fake, yet Nate on the other hand became obssessed with the idea. He searched stores, yard sales, and flea markets for months, but had no luck. I tried talking him out of it numorous times, but he's always been such a stubborn guy and never listened to a word I said. Near the middle of September, he found a large flea market outside of town and went to go check it out. I would've gone with him, but I always have to work weekends at the Sarbuck down the street from the university, and I had overtime so I could buy a new sweater and some leather gloves I'd been wanting by the time my next paycheck came by. When I checked my phone that Saturday after I'd gone home, I found a voicemail sent to me by Nathan.

"I found it Ath, I really got it!", shouted his voice enthusiastically, "I'm driving home now, I can't wait ti- Son of a-!" The last thing I heard was the sound of a car's breaks screeching and a loud scream that I was positive belonged to Nate before the message stopped.

At first, I wasn't sure what to do, I kept wandering, _What happened? Is he okay?_ When I finally came to my senses, I called the police for help, telling them of a possible crash on the outskirts of Ontario. They said they'd do what they could, and while they did the search I should wait to see if Nathan would come home.

He never did.

After forty-eight hours, he was officially declared missing. For the third time in my life, I was scared, and I hated it. That idiotic cowardice left me in utter dispair, and the worst part about it; there wasn't a single thing I could do about it. For a whole week I couldn't even leave the house... that is until I recived a package in the mail. Inside the yellow envelope with no return address was a DS game cartridge labled Pokemon Untouched Crystal Version, and a letter from Nathan.

**Dear Athony, **

**I have to apoligize to you, if you are reading this, then I have already been killed. I know you won't take this well, but I ned you to be strong for me, don't ever give in. Once I've been found and given a grave, I want you to play this game for me. This is my last request, and whatever you do, you _must not die!_ Please do not blame yourself for my death, I made a deal and had to pay the toll, please don't make the same mistake I did. I'm sorry, but I can't tell you anymore, it will only make things worse for you. It seems like I won't get to see you anymore, it makes me feel sad. I don't want to die, but my foolish mistake has brought me to my end.**

**Never give up, Nathan**

I couldn't want to believe it, I _refused _to believe it, but Nate was _not _the kind of person to do something like this for kicks. Unfortunately, my fears were confirmed the next morning when I recived a call from the police. They found his body; burned, bruised, and a list of so many other horrid things I dare not mention for the sake of my own mental health, inside an abondoned warehous an hour away from the city. I couldn't comprehend it, it's hard to describe how I felt with just a single word. I fell apart into tiny peices, peices that could never be restored again. It all slipped away from me... my friend, my brother, my life...

Then finally I lost myself.

I saw no reason for me to walk this Earth and live with no purpose, so I commited suicide. Or at least I tried. The noose I'd tied tightly myself had somehow come undone. After that, countless times I tried everything; knives, drowning, overdoses... yet I was able to unwillingly cheat death each and every time. By the next few days, one of _his _brothers, Edgar, walked in on my in my unlocked apartment while I was trying to use razors to slit my wrists, then forced me to see a therapist four times a week and had me put on suicide watch for almost two months until the end of November. Going through therapy again was even worse than death, I thought it was I shame I couldn't have the real thing. After I could go out on my own and had been deemed _better_, the first thing I did was visit _him_, the grave had been buried two days prior to my release. That was when I remembered the letter, his last wish to me. I had carried the game with me ever since that day, but my longing for death had pushed it way from my mind. I did think of playing it once, but it actually didn't feel right, it was like something compelled me to do so. However, once I left the dark graveyard, a burning curiousity awakened inside of me. I don't know why, but when I stepped into my empty apartment, I knew I had to complete his request, no matter what may stand in my way...

I slowly inserted the cartridge into the 3DS and selected the lilac game icon with sweaty palms. _I've held out on doing this long enough..._ I was expecting a long opening scene to trigger like with every other pokemon game I've played, but instead, the title ascended onto the top screen while Suicune ran across the water at an amazingly graceful speed. I tapped the A button to start, then strangely enough, a text box appeared without giving me the options for information that are usually given.

"...Hello, so you've decided to listen to him after all." Where a pokemon professor usually stood, a sillouette of someone short and small stood. _What is this..._

"I'm sorry, how terribly rude of me, you may call me Benny. I know you're already aware of this 'game'. So what's your name? I'm curious to know." The normal nameing screen came on and the male protagonist walked next to the eight blank spaces. _That's strange... it didn't even let me pick boy or girl either..._ I've always prefered using cannon names, so this perfectly worked out due to the fact I found the dark figure awfully suspicious. I typed out 'Gold' to make myself feel more secure, as I confirmed, the shadow giggled, "Tee hee, so that's what you're sticking with, Athony? Well that's fine I suppose. Now, I think it's time for you to begin, don't you think? Have fun, tee hee... I know I will..." My eyes widened with shock, "How does this guy know my name? This is absurd..."

The figure faded into the dim background and dissappeared before a blinding light was emitted from the console. I closed my eyes on instinct then felt as though I was falling in an endless pit, too afraid to even scream as my mind and body became one with the darkness that started to close around me...

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**Wow, there are so many references in here, it's crazy. Then again, you guys aren't me, so you might not get all of them (I find random ways to connect everything). I like how this is turning out, considering how far in detail I've already planned this out (Yup, I'm a planner, though I've done it all in my head). I really hope you liked it because I worked day and night on this. Comments, questions, and (not _too_ harsh) critizism in the reviews is appreciated so I can find ways to make this better. Thank you for reading, and goodbye.**


	2. Chapter 1: Old Adventure, New Hero

**Wow, I've already got a handful of people reading this story. I'd like to thank everyone who took the time to read the prologue and this chapter (especially because some of you said that you don't usually read these sort of stories). And for that, you get something that _isn't _a virual cookie, because those are very overused. Sorry if I don't update this as much as my other stories, it takes a very long time for me to type these chapters out (each chapter is usually 15 pages on _college rule_, I'm only up to the fourth chapter and half way through the notebook I have this in). Anyways, please enjoy.**

_**DISCLAIMER: Nope. No-no. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Nowise.**_

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"Kooky, kukooky!", a rough voice grunted. I groaned tiredly and blinked my blurry eyes a few times before sitting up from the floor. _What is that? I think I've heard it before..._ A pinch on my right arm made me become more awake and look in that particular direction. There was an unusual looking orange crab looking up at me, only it wasn't a crap... but I just couldn't put my finger on what _it_ was exactly. "Hey there Gold! What were ya doin' sleepin' on the floor?", I heard someone call out. I did a quick check around the small, cozy bedroom, but there wasn't an other single person with me and the crustatian. That was when I began to realize... I've seen this room before, but I've _never_ been inside of it, that was a fact. _What is this place?_ The crab jumped onto my lap and it looked quite irritated. _Wait a minute, craps aren't supposed to look __anything! What the hell?_ It waved its claws around and jumped up and down, then I heard that same person again, "Hey! Don't ingnore me!"

A lightbulb in my head flickered on and I put two and two together.

_That 'kooky' sound and its appearance... so does this mean this is..._ "Krabby?", I asked animal with uncertainty. He seemed a bit more satisfied and gave a sigh, "Good! I was gettin' scared for a secon' there, Gold..." I nearly choked on my tounge, _K-krabby? But i-it's a pokemon! Th-they're not supposed to t- wait, d-did he just call me wh-what I think he did?_ I set the Krabby down then frantically searched through the drawers of the computer desk until I found a mirror just big enough to see myself.

I bit my lower lip hardly to prevent myself from yelling. I looked like I was ten years old and in fourth grade again... but it wasn't me I was looking at on the otherside. My skin wasn't as pale and clammy as it normally was and my dark bags from sleepless nights had faded. My eyes were much more vivid and filled with life, and not to mention, much more different. I don't know what it was hidden within them, but it seemed to be something waiting and pleading for help... I was also wearing a certain yellow and black colored cap with a pair of goggles pearched on top that I could recognize anywhere, I had a feeling, but I didn't think it was possible...

"It's Gold. I am... Gold?"

"Geez, what's with ya today? Don't ya need to get over ta the lab today?", Krabby shouted. _And I can hear him talk... but only some of the legandaries are supposed to, right?_ I kneeled in front of the pokemon and spoke a bit shakily, "H-hey, um Krabby? You understand what I'm saying right?" It gave a dissapointed grunt, "Yeah! Do ya think I'm deaf or somethin'?" "Er, I don't doubt you're ability to hear, but... you know I can understand what you say, don't you?" The crab's eyes widened, "What? Ya do? Ya don't hear that 'cookie' crap like all the humans do?"

I shook my head, "Well, I heard it at first, but then I could hear you yelling at me to wake up..." I may have been keeping a calm composture, but on the inisde I was simply put, flipping out. _This is insane... I'm inside a game that shouldn't exist anywhere but Japan, I'm in the body of a ten year old who can easily be my doppelganger, and now I have the ability to use telepathy with fictional animals. None of this is making sense!_

Suddenly, a large pulse of energy surged through the area. The pokemon was still in mid air and everything became quiet... it was almost as if time had stopped. "Tee hee, so you can talk to them too, it's probably because of all that pain you have to drag around with you.", a young child laughed from behind. I turned to find an albino boy who could be no older than seven giving me a small, innocent smile. "Who are you? Let me guess, Benny?", I said with tranquility. He giggled, "Yup, that's right. You're smarter than most." I narrowed my eyes at him suspicously, _this kid is strange, I feel like I've met him before... I wonder..._

"I'm sure you're the one who brought me here, if I'm not mistaken." "You're certainly as perceptive as always, what a bother. Then again, you _are_ more entertaining than that boy who couldn't stop being so optimistic all the time, I didn't like him at all.", Benny said bitterly. _Optimistic? I guess it's safe to assume-_ "So... this means you're also Nathan's murderer. Am I right?", I glared at him with pure disgust and hatred. Th albino only smirked, "Don't you think you should get back to the game?"

Just as I was about to argue with him, he dissappeared into thin air, as if he had never been standing in this room to begin with. "Wha- hey Gold, why're ya starin' at the wall?", I heard the unfrozen Krabby ask. _That kid is responsible for Nate, there's no doubt. If that's true, then why? Why kill him and bring me here? I still don't even get how any of this is happening._ I started walking and headed down the stairs in the corner of the room, "Sorry Krabby, we can talk about this later, I've got to get going." _Until all of this is sorted out, I'll just have to 'play along' and find a way out. I'm not sure what's gong on, but it's the only thing I can think of. Besides, I have to do this... for Nate._

A brown haired woman sitting at the living room table smiled and greeted me warmly, "Hi, Gold! You're finnaly awake." For a split second, I could feel a familiar emptiness in the pit of my stomach. I'm not sure why, but the woman faintly reminded me of my mother... well, my _real_ mother. "Um, yeah. Krabby wouldn't stop pinching me until I got up..", I said as I strode over to her. "You're friend Lyra was just here. She was playing hide-and-seek with her Marill." For a moment I'd forgotten who Lyra was, but then I remembered how I was supposed to 'play the part'. "Really? I guess I should go see her later.", I told my 'mom', even I was thoroughly convinced by my performance. She agreed, "That would be kind of you. Oh, I almost forgot! Our acquaintance, Professor Elm, was looking for you. You know where the lab is right? It's just next door to us. By the way, do you have everything you need to go out?"

I scratched the back of my head a tad sheepishly, "Erm, not exactly..." "That's all right dear, I've already packed your things." She handed me a large, overstuffed backpack with many zippers and pockets, "There's the tent, a journal to save your thoughts and progress, your apricorn box, extra clothes, cooking supplies, a few books on careing for pokemon-" The list went on and on to the point I couldn't even follow what she was saying. I laughed nervously, "Um, yeah, thanks mom." She also handed me a lamenated card with 'my' name and other information I knew about immediatly the moment I saw it, "And here's your Trainer Card, just incase you decide to catch a pokemon of your own. You should head over to Professor Elm's lab now, good luck!" I nodded before I left the house, "Okay, thanks mom."

As soon as I stepped outside and shut the door, a tiny azure, ball like animal bumped into my feet. "Erm, hey there Marill..." The water-mouse jumped a bit and squeaked, "Not so loud! Marill needs to hide!" _Oh right, hide-and-seek..._ The pokemon hopped a bit before running in the direction I knew the girl trainer would appear and ran off elsewhere with Lyra. For the first time, I looked around and noticed how peaceful this town truely was, it was almost hard to believe this was all just a game. _It's too real to be a dream. I should be careful not to reveal my true identity to anyone..._

I skipped over to the laboratory and hesitantly went inside. _I have to remain calm and not draw any negative attention. _The building was muxh larger than I remembered, but still closely resembled the original enough that I was able to know where I was. There were a few scientist typing away on computers and others walking around with pokemon. I traveled deeper inside the facility until I found the brunette pokemon researcher doing something on his PC. "Professor Elm, my mom told me to see you." He turned around in his swivel chair and smiled joyfully, "Hi, Gold! I've been waiting for you! Do you know anything about my research?" "Um, you study pokemon and try to learn new things about them, right?", I asked, trying the best I could to sound my 'age'. "Yes, exactly. As you know, pokemon are carried in pokeballs these days. Before the pokeball was invented, people used to walk with pokemon, just as your friend Lyra does! Pokeballs are great because you can carry many pokemon, but walking with pokemon can have some advantages. It could have something to do with how pokemon grow or evolve..."

I obviously knew where this was going, but I still needed to follow my script, "Why are you telling me this? It's not like I have my own pokemon..." Professor Elm walked over to the large, metal machine next to his desk and motioned to the three pokeballs inside, "Well, that's because I'm going to give you one! Can you walk beside this pokemon, outside of its pokeball, to see if this brings any special feelings or bonds between pokemon and people? This device has some pokemon-" Right on cue, a loud ring came from the computer and the researcher quickly answered it, "Oh, hey! I got an e-mail! ... Hm... Uh-huh... Ok..."

_I know this isn't exactly the same as HG or SS, but I'd atleast expect some more differences by now. Oh well, maybe they'll happen later..._ Professor Elm refocused his attention to me, "Hey, listen. I have this acquaintance that people call Mr. Pokemon, he keeps finding weird things and raving about his discoveries. Anyway, I just got an e-mail from him saying that this time it's real. It's probably another pokemon egg, but we're so busy with our pokemon research..." "I can go check it out if you want.", I volenteered. "Really? That'd be wonderful! You can choose one of those pokemon over ther to aid you. Cyndaquil the fire type, Totodile the water type, and Chikorita the grass type. I'd take them out of their pokeballs and show them to you together, but they tend to get into troublesome quarrels." I walked to the device and took a peek at the animals visible through the red portion of the capsules. Chikorita was sound asleep while Totodile stared off into space and Cyndaquil glared hate fully at me. I payed more attention to the mouse like pokemon, I find it strange how much he seemed to dislike me. Though, I could tell he wasn't upset with _me _exactly, it felt like something deeper...

I picked up the fire starter's pokeball and smirked with satisfaction on my dicision, "I'll pick Cyndaquil, he seems to be friendly." "Oh, a-are you sure? He can be very hostile and extremely stubborn...", Professor Elm warned. "Well, then that's a better way to make a strong bond, isn't it?" I pressed the button with my thumb and let the Cyndaquil out with a red ray of light, it seemed to still be watching me. I crouched down to pat his head, but when he started snarling I decided to back away and give him some space. "What's the matter?", I asked him. The pokemon continued to growl, "Don't think just because you picked me that we're going to be friends, I know you're not a normal person..." _He can tell? He certainly makes me feel a tad nostilogic though. _"You could give him a nickname if you'd like, that may make him more friendly..." _I know just what to call him._

"All right I'll call you Ath, how does that sound?" The pokemon only silently turned his head to the side, as if ignoring my presence. Professor Elm nervously cleared his throat before speaking, "Well, you can take it all the way to Mr. Pokemon's house. If your pokemon gets hurt, you can heal it with the machine behind me. It's easy to use, just check the PC on my desk. Mr. Pokemon goes everywhere and finds rarities. His house is past Cherrygrove City a bit north, I'm counting on you Gold!" I nodded, "Thank you, I'll do my best." I turned and left the facility, with Ath reluctantly following behind. _Maybe I should tell him the truth, he might trust me if I explain my situation to him..._ Lyra and her Marill were waiting outside for me when I came out of the lab. The hyperactive girl giggled, "Gold! See you picked a Cyndaquil, that's a cute pokemon you have!" I shrugged, "I guess, he doesn't seem to like me though..." "Don't worry, when you walk with it, it'll become more friendly!" At that comment, I heard the pokemon beside me snort, "How naive." I laughed to the best of my limited ability to do so, "Yeah, my mom tells me that all the time." "Oh, that's right! Why don't you show it to your mom? I gotta go, see ya!", and with that, the girl and the water mouse were off to the south of town. When they were gone, I did a quick check to see if the coast was clear to speak to my Cyndaquil, "C'mere, I need to tell you something." He rolled his eyes, "Whatever, this better be good." I kept walking until we came to the edge of the town where the river started and sat next to Ath. "What do you want?", he asked suspiciously. I managed to keep my voice low enough so he could here me and random passers would not, "You were right, like you said, I'm not normal. I'm not even really from here."

I explained my akaward situation as best and accurate as I was able to. He seemed to be skeptical of my story, but continued to listen attentively. "So then, you _can _speak to pokemon, and here I thought you were supposed to be some evil spirit or demon. The only thing I don't believe is that this is all a _game_." I stood up from the grass and brushed the dirt off the seat of my shorts, "Ever heard the saying "Life is a Game"? I know how most things will turn out, but not everything. So what do you say, will you aid me or not?" Ath simply nodded, "Well, I don't have much else to do, and you _are_ officially my trainer. I'll help until you can get back home. All of this actually sounds interesting, I want to see how it all plays out." "Huh, I honestly didn't think you'd agree, but that's great. Now I guess we have to go see my 'mom', then we can leave town." We finished up the conversation and made our way to the house behind us. The brunette woman inside was cooking something bitter smelling on the stove. "Hey mom, I'm back!" She turned around and ran right over to me. "Oh, Gold! That's a cute pokemon you have, Professor Elm must have given it to you.", she marveled at Ath. "Yeah, he needs me to go pick something up on Route 30, so he gave me a Cyndaquil to help me."

Oh, I see. That sounds a little difficult, but when someone makes that kind of request of you, it must be important!" I shrugged unsurely, "It doesn't seem that hard, I'll be able to do it. Oh, I almost forgot to ask, is my Pokegear back from the repair shop?" "Oh, that's right! Here you go. Do you remember how to use it?", the woman asked as she slipped the device on to my left wrist. "Yeah mom, I'll be fine." She gave me a peck on the cheek and a loving hug, "All right, take care dear."That empty boicd returned once she let go, but then I remembered to disregard such a thing like that, she isn't my mother. As Ath and I walked out the door, I began to giggle to myself in a way to relieve myself of the twisted tension I carried at the pit of my stomach, "I'm surprised that you didn't say anything." "I did want to tell her a thing or two about that 'cute' remark, she probably thinks I'm a girl or something, but it's not like she can understand me." I scooped the Cyndaquil into my arms and smirked deviously, "Well, you _sound_ like a little girl the way you're complaining about it." "Shut up." I was about to pass the lab, but I was stopped by the sound of Professor Elm shouting, "Wait one second!" Once he caught up to me, he was slightly out of breath, "I completely forgot, I should give you my Pokegear number." We quickly exchanged our numbers, then he returned to the facility and waved to me, "I'll call if anything comes up!" "Okay, I'll keep that in mind!", I replied. Before I took my first step onto Route 29, I stopped and turned to my right where something caught my eye. Actually, it was more like _someone_.

A pale boy taller, but most likely around 'my' age, was peering into a window on the side of the pokemon laboratory. He had vivid crimson irised and shoulder length strands that just barely brushed the collar of his dark jacket. _That's right, I almost forgot he was here..._ "Hey Gold, who's that kid?", Ath squeaked. I guess the kid must have heard him in is pokemon language, because he looked in our direction. He and I both held eye contact for several moments, him seeing my mostly blank expression and me identifying his confused one quite easily. It seemed as though he was about to tell me something, but I broke the connection and started heading on the route before he could even form a word. The Cyndaquil snorted, "You know who he is, don't you? He looked really shady..." "You could say that, but we won't have to worry about him for a while. We can cross that bridge when we get there.", I told him vaguely.

"And you're not going to tell me much else to annoy me,am I right?"

"That you are Ath, good to see you're catching on. You'll be used to my strange ways in no time."

An exasperated sigh escaped him, "If you know something and you're not going to tell me about it, keep it to yourself. Things get really confusing when you do that." "Too bad, it's much more fun to see you struggling to figure things out.", I told him with delight. "Hmph, sadist."

I was surprised, even though we were in tall grass the majority of the time, no wild pokemon abushed us the whole way to Cherrygrove. As I walked into the small city, I took notice that the old man who gave out the running shoes and Map card wasn't around. _I guess this is a change I've been looking for, that or it's him doing this..._ "Let's go buy some things just in case." The pokemart was pretty normal and similar to a convinience store, I bought a few potions with some of the money I found in the Gyarridos wallet in my pocket. Once I'd gotten what we needed, we ventured on to Route 30. It wasn't too different from my memories of it, so I was able to easily manuver through the road. "By now I thought that we would at least find a Rattatta or a Caterpie. Strange..." "You really know alot about pokemon inside-out, huh?", my Cyndaquil remarked. "I guess, this _is _on of the things I spent my whole childhood on. I've commited most knowledge to memory, but I wouldn't exactly call myself an expert." After passing the children battling with a Pidgey and Rattatta and a few trees, we finally reached the last house on the route. I set Ath on the ground and lightly rapped my fist on the door, "Looks like we got here okay, though I had no doubts on it. Don't try to pull any crazy stunts." "Yeah, whatever."

An old man wearing a tan fedora and suit answered the door, "May I ask who you are?" I reverted back to my acting tactics as I spoke, "Professor Elm sent me to pick up something from Mr. Pokemon." "You must be Gold. It was I who sent an e-mail to Professor Elm earlier, please come inside." Ath and I followed him inside the small cottage. It was just as I remembered the room looking, but I don't think Professor Oak was sitting at the computer drinking coffee before. Mr. Pokemon retrived a cylinder container holding a white and green splattered egg inside, and carefully handed it to me, "A friend of mine from Ecruteak gave it to me. I bet you can't find this kind of egg in Jogto, I thought Professor Elm might be able to tell what this is. "He's the best when it comes to the research of pokemon evolution." Isn't that what you always say, Professor Oak?"

The pokemon researcherplaced his mug on the desk and stood, "Yes, that is true. I'm sorry for not introducing myself earlier, I'm Professor Oak from the research facility of Pallet Town in the Kanto region." I shook my head and spoke with a hint of surprise, "That's all right, I know who you are, I've heard you on the radio from time to time. I'm Gold, it's nice to meet you." "So you're Gold! I was just visiting my friend Mr. Pokemon, I heard you were running an errand for Professsor Elm, so I waited here." His gaze traveled to Ath and he smiled with excitment, "Oh, what's this? A rare pokemon! I see, you must also be helping Professor Elm's research!" "Yes, he let me choose my Cyndaquil to see if walking with him will prove to show a connection with friendship.", I explained sincerely. "I think I understand why Professor Elm gave you that pokemon, you will treat your pokemon with love and care it seems... Ah, I have an idea! You seem dependable, how would you like to help me out?" "Sure, I don't mind at all." Professor Oak walked over to me and gave me a large, scarlet hunk of technology that I was all too familiar with.

"This is the latest version of the Pokedex. It automatically records data on pokemon you've seen or caught, it's basically a high-tech encyclopedia! I'd like you to have it. You can go meet many kinds of pokemon and complete that Pokedex. I'm sorry, but I've stayed too long, I have to get to Goldenrod for my usual radio show. I'm certain we will meet eachother again, but let's exchange numbers to be on the safe side." After the two of us registered our numbers in our Pokegears, the researcher left the house. Before returning to Route 30, I thanked Mr. Pokemon for being helpful.

"Well aren't you just a perfect little actor.", Ath rolled his eyes once we were outside. "I've got to be if I'm ever going to get back home." "So what's in the egg?" I shrugged, "I have a good idea, but I can't be sure. Anywa-" I was interuptted by the sound of my cellular device ringing loudly. I answered the call with ease and held it up to my ear, "Hey Professor Elm, what do you need?" I could hear his voice on the other end, his panic clearly showed even with the static in the background, "H-hello? Gold? It's a disaster! Uh, um, it's just terrible! What should I do? It... oh, no... Please get back here now!" Then the line cut off with it's disconnected beeping.

"...The hell? What's going on over there?" "I don't know, how about we go find out?", I asked in a teasing manner. The fire-type's flame fumed a bit as he trotted on ahead, "Whatever, be all mysterious and crap, but I'm just going to ignore you everytime you do that now." Before we kwew it, we were back in Cherrygrove and very close to Route 29. "Hey Ath, remember that guy from earlier?" He gave me a skeptical look for suspicion, "Yeah... what's your point?" "Take a look up ahead."

Right on cue, the ginger was now just running into town, holding a pokeball in is hand. It wasn't until he got closer that he noticed us and came to a halt, then he gave me an intimidating glare that didn't even cause me to flinch. He looked over to Ath and smirked arrogantly, "... I remember you, you got a pokemon at the lab. What a waste, that pokemon is too good for a wimp like you." "What'd you say?", I heard the Cyndaquil beside me growled. "You're kind of right about that, I haven't even battled a wild pokemon _or_ trainer since I got a pokemon of my own." The boy seemed surprised by my answer, but he did his best not to show it. "Well that's a new one, a person who can actually admit to being weak. I've got a good pokemon and nothing better to do, so why don't I show you a real battle?", he said as he released a Totodile from it's capsule. "Why not? I don't have an arguement against that."

Ath groaned, "Now I get it. You could have told me this was going to happen instead of taunting me you bastard." I decided I would ignore that little comment for now and sent him out to battle, "Ath, use tackle on Totodile." Despite his stubborn attitude, he still listened to my command and charged towards the blue water-type. "Dodge and use scratch, then leer!" Just before Ath made contact, the Totodile jumped in the air, landed behind Ath, slashed his back, and made a strange light appear that lowered the Cyndaquil's defense. _So that's how he wants to play..._

"Totodile, scratch again!", the redhead shouted. The pokemon clawed at the Cyndaquil's back harshly and sent him flying into a nearby bush. "Ath! Are you all right?", I called out. It was silent for a few moments, but then all of the shrub's leaves began to catch fire, "That is it! I'm going to end this!" He dashed out of the burning bushand hurtled straight for the water pokemon. "Stop Ath!" I was a tad taken back when the furious fire mouse came to a halt. "The hell! I'm trying to kick his ass!" The boy laughed slightly, "Well, at least you're better than half of the losers I've gone up against, but you're still really weak." "It's understandable. I mean it is my _first_ battle, so you shouldn't really expect to win, you actually seem like a really good trainer after all." I looked over to my pokemon who was breathing quite heavily, he looked pretty beat up, but I knew he wasn't ready to give up. "Totodile, sratch one more time!" The aquatic pokemon got into a running start towards Ath who remained perfectly still. "Hey, tell me to do something!", he shouted. _Not just yet... I have to strike at the right moment..._ Once Totodile was just seconds away from colliding, I yelled out, "Now! Tackle his stomach!" Just as he was about to be swiped by the water type's claw, Ath rammed into him with just enough power to throw him in the air for a moment, then he landed on the ground, completely KO'ed.

The fire-type started jumping up and doing a hilarious little victory dance, "Yeah! I won, suck it!" _I seriously wonder if he's as bi-polar as I am, it certainly seems like it._ The ginger narrowed his eyes dangerously, "I guess you're happy that you won." I shrugged, "Sure, but not as much as my pokemon. By the way, who are you?" He returned his defeated pokemon to his pokeball and coldly brushed past me, "You want to know who I am?... I'm going to be the world's greatest trainer." _The same as before, so that should mean..._ I looked down and picked up the small, lamenated card that was on the ground. I read the information on the card and slyly smirked to myself, "Hey Silver, I think you dropped something." He turned around at the same time as I did and stared at the trainer's card I held between my fingers with horror. He quickly snatched it away and escaped out of town before I could even blink.

"Geez, what's his problem?" I simply shook my head and scooped the injured pokemon into my arms, "Don't worry, we'll see him again soon. Now let's go heal you at the pokemon center."

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**Ugh, I'm tired and feel like I'm going to be sick. Anyways, sorry again this took so long to update, stuff happened to all of my stories and writing stuff and I practically had a mental breakdown for like four days. Well, I've got it all back now, so I'm good. I might not be able to update this for a week or so, I'm going to visit friends half way across the country and I wanted to get this up before then. Thank you for reading, reviews are appreciated, and Happy Second Day of Summer Vacation.**


	3. Chapter 2: What Item was Truly Stolen?

**I was up north for a week and had no internet at all, and I was going nuts the whole time. My monitor also got effed up, so I'm resorting to a mobile device (though I absolutely cannot stand it). At least now I can upload this after the extremely long hiatus. I don't really have much else to say, so enjoy the chapter.**

**_DISCLAIMER: Sorry, not happening anytime soon._**

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"Our first battle together, I think we're bonding already.", I told the Cyndaquil walking beside me. He rolled his eyes at me, "My god, since when have you been so optimistic? Do you have multiple personalities or something?" "I do actually, along with ADHD, Schizophrenia, Bipolar Disorder, and a few other things on the side.", I explained with a straight face. Ath stopped for a moment and just stared at me in disapproval, "The hell, I knew you weren't right in the head, but seriously?" "Yes seriously, it's not my fault I have developed these so-called mental conditions as a young child, it just happened. When you're constantly surrounded by death, it's normal for things like this to happen."

Ath changed the subject as we walked into Newbark, "Hey, we're back. What was that call from Professor Elm about anyway?" "Well, let's just say it has to do with Silver. He cause a bit of trouble around here." "Should've known, he looked kind of guilty when we ran into him in Cherrygrove." We casually walked into the lab that was surrounded by a few police cars and motorcycles. Inside, Professor Elm was frantically speaking with a cop who wrote down notes in a small notepad. Things seemed quite hectic, what with all the scientist and officers running around. "Professor Elm, did something happen here? What's going on?", I asked whilst pretending I had no knowledge of the chaos. Before the Pokemon researcher could say another word, the police officer immediately began to interrogate me, "Who are you? We are investigating the case of the missing Pokemon." With no trouble at all, I feigned an expression of shock, "A Pokemon?! It wasn't a Totodile, was it?" "Oh my, then you must be...the one who stole it?" Right on cue, the flighty as ever Lyra bursted in to join the conversation. "Hold on a second, " the girl cried out, "He has nothing to do with it! I saw it, there was a red haired boy looking into the building!"

Taking my chance, I agreed with the brunette, "That's right, I ran into him while I was passing through Cherrygrove! He battled me with a Totodile, so I was kind of suspicious. I think he said his name was Silver..." The cop scribbled down all this information in his book and gave a nod, "I see, he must be the one who did it. Thanks for helping the investigation! My next assignment is to search for this red haired individual." And with that, he called off all the other officers to clear out of the laboratory. Lyra took a great, big sigh of relief, "I'm glad they know you're not the thief. I've got to go find Marill, see you!" As quickly as she came, the girl bolted out of the facility with lightning speed. _I get the fact that she means well... But that child is much to annoying to be around, what with her popping in and out of places._

Professor Elm respired tiredly, "This is terrible..." "Well, at least I got the egg here in one piece.", I held up the glass container and handed it over to the Pokemon scientist. Hto seemed to relax when he spied the Pokemon egg he appeared to be previously oblivious to, "So it was an egg. It may be something I've never seen... But it's still just an egg, Mr. Pokemon is fascinated by them. Well, since he gave it to us, we might as well find out what secret it holds." "I'd be really cool if it turns out to be a really rare Pokemon, and then when it hatches, I can put its info in the Pokedex I got from Professor Oak!" "What, he gave you a Pokedex?! That's incredible! Professor Oak is superb at seeing the potential of people as trainers, I knew you were a little different.

"Your Pokemon seems to really like you, so why don't you take the Pokemon gym challenge?", he suggested. I acted as if I was taking a moment to think this all over, "I've always wanted to battle the gyms, but I never thought I'd be able to do it." "If you manage to defeat all of the gym leaders, you'll eventually challenge the Pokemon league champion!... Or not! Ha ha, becoming the Champion is not at all easy, but you can certainly challenge Violet City's Gym." I gave a small salute of acknowledgement, "I understand, I'm sure I can do it, I just have to train hard and try my best!" _I swear I just heard my pride being locked into a chest and thrown into a raging river of hell. I think I may even take more therapy after all this is over since I can already tell this silly façade will make me go even more insane._

"Gold, challenging the gyms scattered around will be a long journey, before you leave, make sure to talk to your mom." "Of course, I'll make sure to call if I find anything out about the Pokemon thief!" Ath and I ditched the lab that was now rid of the blaring lights of police vehicles. We then began to take off our next duty on the list. "Pokemon gyms, huh? I think I've heard of those before. There are supposed to be eight in each region you've gotta beat so you can fight like five of the best trainers in the Pokemon League and become Champ, right?", Ath deduced using his limited knowledge on the subject. "Yeah, that was a spot on summary of the basics. It's going to take a while to get to all of the cities though..." The Cyndaquil shrugged, "I guess we just have to make due with what we've got. Training, battles, and all that great stuff." "Yeah, we can do it just fine."

We got home and found mom (or rather, Gold's mother) sitting at the kitchen table with a steaming cup of coffee. I didn't have the chance to tell her the situation before she began speaking, "... So you're leaving on an adventure, you grew up so fast." Her voice was quiet yet on the verge of tears, it almost made what's left of my metaphorical, empty heart shatter, I nearly forgot to keep my 'role'. "D-don't worry mom, I'll call you everyday so you're not all alone with Krabby!", I told her reassuringly. She got out of her chair and walked over to me with a , "You're such a sweet boy. Try to keep in touch if it's not too much trouble, 'kay? Be careful. Pokemon are your friends, when you work as a team, you can accomplish anything. Now go on." She gave me one last tight squeeze, reopening that all-consuming dark void, and a small kiss goodbye. Ath and I turned to leave after I mummbled a silent, "I love you, mom."

"What's with you?", the hostile creature motioned to my twitching hands once we were outside, "You look like you're about to be sick." I filled in my jacket pockets to cease the shaking, regaining my neutral mask as I replied to him, "I don't know what you're talking about, I think you're just tired. We'll spend the night in Violet City once we get there." "Hm." I was grateful he appeared to know he shouldn't press further on the matter, though I was aware he would bring it up sometime later. Just as we were beginning to exit town, I took notice of Lyra and her water type hanging around the route up ahead. Once the young brunette spotted us, she placed her hands on her hips impatiently, "There you are, I've been waiting for you!" "Sorry... I had to do some things before coming out here." "Okay, well here are some Pokeball, I know you don't have anything with you right now.", she gave me a few capturing capsules that I immediately attached to the belt on my waist. "Good thing I taught you how to catch Pokemon last week, huh? Good luck, Gold!" And with that, she was off to the next town with a slight skip in her step. "... Please tell me she doesn't just annoy me alone." "Haa, sadly, we can both agree with that."

The two of us passed through Cherrygrove and on to Route 30 again, only this time going through the path with trainers. Unfortunately, they were all pushovers and Ath barely had to lift a finger (or paw) to defeat them. _Well, it's better that he wins, I'm pretty convinced he'd be a sore loser..._ After fighting a young bug catcher, we finaly reached Violet City, possibly one of my favorite places in this world next to Lavender Town and Snowpoint City. The area wasn't too different, so I had no trouble getting around. We didn't do too much, just stroll around and enjoying the bright eastern scenery until the sky began to darken. "Maybe we should get to the Pokemon Center, it's getting late.", the Cyndaquil suggested. "All right, let's go." We went inside of the red roofed building and made our way to the Food Court. My stomach howled at the mere thought of dinner, I didn't realize how starving I was until I remembered I haven't eaten in a day or two. I bought a large plate of California Rolls filled with tender salmon and ripe avocado, and some crispy panko shrimp on the side, while Ath took a large bowl of bitter ("I'm not gonna eat anything that tastes like children's sweets!") Oran berries.

"So, tomorrow we'll challenge the gym, right?", he asked with anticipation, sitting across from me in the window view booth. I shrugged lazily, "Maybe." "Maybe? Why's that?" "We won't be able to battle the gym leader until we take care of something else in town. After that, we can challenge Faulkner, I suspect he shouldn't be too difficult." The fire mouse crowed loudly, "You seem very sure, what makes you think we can pull it off?" "I'm an expert, and your raw power is nothing to sneeze at either, it will be such an easy challenge.", I smirked slyly.

I checked us into a single room (with the generic Nurse Joy, of course). The room was pretty spacious for one person and Pokemon, complete with a personal bathroom, television, full sized bed, and a beautiful sunset view of the west with a palette of warm colors. I left Ath to his own devices ("Break anything, and you're paying for it.") so I could take a quick shower and slip into a baggey pair of pajama pants and a large shirt. By the time I got out of the bathroom, the Cyndaquil was all ready asleep on the foot of the bed, most likely bored from watching an infomercial about Skittty and Happiny. I shut the t.v. off and was about to do the same with the bedside lights, but then I came across the small, black journal laying upon my backpack. _Strange, I don't remember taking that out. _I reached for the notebook bonded with white thread and the crimson ink pen underneath it, _I wouldn't want this to go to waste... _I kept a book to document my feelings when I was in therapy, but only because it was mandatory. I've always wanted to have a diary of my own, but it always seemed to slip to the back of my mind. I alway thought it could be the one thing I could truly call my own, for my eyes and my eyes alone.

_November 24, 2012 Wednesday (10:37 PM)_

_I want to use this journal... As a memory. A memory I don't want to forget. As far as I know, I'm stuck in this game and there may not be a way for me to return to my home. My Cyndaquil that I have named after myself, will serve as a reminder to not give up. He may be quite stubborn and plotting to kill me, but I believe I can appropriately call him my "Ally". Nate is the only soul I could trust my life with, but now he is gone and I fear I may have to find another to put my faith into._

_It's not clear who this Benny character is or what his motive to trap me here, but I can plainly see he is the cause of death. No, death isn't the right word, he's the cause of his **murder.** I understand that if I am not careful, I will be done away with as well, but I will make sure that does not happen. I will avenge his murder. I will survive this and leave this world._

_I will not die here._

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**Sorry this took so long, I actually just started high school last week, so I may not have the chance to update this as much as I'd like to. Oh, and incase some of you are confused about the date of the journal entry, I made the year to be the same as the year this 'game' should have come out. Thank you for reading, and please remember to review, it gives me alot of inspiration. Thanks! d- -b**


	4. Chapter 3: Reflection, or Self?

**Hey there... (glances at impatient readers with tomatoes) Ahem. Sorry for not updating this too much. I've always got a crap load of homework(yay for high school), and I do have like seven stories I'm doing at once. Besides that, been feeling better after a week of sickness and I felt like uploading this. Please enjoy.**

**_DISCLAIMER: Nope. Chuck Testa. (shot)_**

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_+I don't recall how I got here, this city painted in midnight with buildings that streched on forever. No one was with me, though it's not like I didn't expect it. I let myself wander through the dark city aimlessly, my body felt light and weightless. I came to a dead end in the street, but a pure white building shaped like a fair tent waited for me. On instinct I walked inside to discover a maze composed completely out of mirrors. My reflection showed my small stature of about the age of six or so._

_A playful child's voiced giggled from afar, "Find me. Find me. Find me." My curiosity led me to follow the laughter, it was familiar to me, though I could not find its place. Maybe I heard him once in a dream. I traveled deeper into the labyrinth as the beckoning voice got louder, "You're almost there. Come find me." I continued to search through every twist and turn like the curious child I was. I finally came into an empty, blacked out room, only a full body sized resided on the farthest wall. I took a step into the room, the voice spoke again, "Heh, you've found me... Why don't you come see me?"_

_Without warning, the door bolted closed behind my back. I jumped slightly, but didn't react much more than that. I scanned the room, but there wasn't anther person in sight. A trap... I think... this was a... trap... I was taken by shock when I felt invisible hands pull at me from my wrists and ankles forcefully. The fingers felt frostbitten to my tangiable skin, and the chill seeped into my bones as my flesh twisted harshly, leaving obvious burn marks. I desperately struggled against the unseeable force, but I only caused further bruising and deteriorating my strength. W-why is... this happening? I... can't get... away..._

_The force stopped me before the mirror, but I was still not allowed to be freed. I tried to looked into my reflection, I gasped in horror, who I saw could not possibly be me. He was young, and a sick ghostly color. His chestnut hair was awfully unkempt like he'd just woken up, but he wore a black winter coat that seemed to have semi-melted snow on the shoulders. I stared deep into his piercing, bloody predator-like eyes, they were filled with distortion and hunger for power. I couldn't look away, his gaze was too mesmerizing and hypnotic, like I'd had my soul captured by him. He gave a twisted grin, full of madness, "That didn't take you long, but you're much too easy to manipulate. Maybe it's because of who you used to be."_

_A flare of anger burst into me, and without realizing my actions, I smashed the glass into peices with my fist. Miraculously, my hand was unscathed, I huffed with relief. That boy... where... have I... seen him before? "You're also powerful, so you were an automatic choice." _

_I whirled around to face the mirror boy again, he donned a triumphant smirk that taunted me. I became completely tense from fear, with the exception of my spazzing fingers. "You're much more interesting than you used to be, but that must be because you've become like me." My body jerked awkwardly, I was being controlled like a puppet. I dropped to my knees, and my arm began to move. My eyes grew large when my hand hovered over a particularly jagged mirror shard and took hold of it. The glass sliced into my palm, it stung, but I've been through far worse. Then the knife-like objected raked through my arms unexpectedly, I choked out a loud, throat burning cry as warm blood spilled on the floor and stained my pants. The glass plundged into me again and again at an unbearable rate, with each gash carving the new images into my mind. _

_"Oh, you poor thing. You must be in so much pain.", cooed the sadistic child, his eyes gleaming with dark intentions. I glared at him through my tearful eyes, teeth barred in a snarl. Who ever this child was, I would not let him just ridicule me like a powerful thrust, the mirror piece penetrated the flesh of my abdomen. What seemed like buckets of fluids poured out from my stomach and mouth as I hacked and coughed from the impact. I dropped like a stone to the floor that was as cold as my body was becoming. White flooded into my vision with the lingering of that insane, bitter sweet giggling._

_"I guess I'll just have to make you stronger."+_

"Get up you idiot!", Ath shouted violently. What felt like a jolt of electricity hit my forehead, then my body was pushed out the bed an onto the floor. I blinked my eyes a few times and was greeted by a Cyndaquil standing on my chest. "I guess that got you up." "Huh? What are you talking about?" The flames on his back flared, "The hell do I mean?! You and your psycho shenanigans freaked me the fuck out! You were asleep with your eyes wide open and twitched like a freaking spider!" _Crap, it was a dream, but it was so real..._

"You know, spiders don't have bones in their legs, just blood circulating and tendons. When they die and fluids are released from their bodies, the legs just curl up." I wanted to get that nightmare out of my head as soon as possible, though I knew itwould not be easy. The Cyndaquil jumbled over his words, "I just- You- No! Don't pull that random shit on me, what the hell was that?!" "Relax", I waved my hand to him, "I was just a little bad dream. You get worked up too easily." "Little my ass, you looked like you were dying. What happened?", Ath snorted. I got off the carpet and headed to the bathroom for a quick shower. I only sighed to the pokemon, "I don't feel like talking about it, we'll just leave it at that."

I properly readied myself for the day, Ath constantly pestered me for information, so I told him random things to get him off my back for a bit. I get that he's concerned, but I was prepared to chuck him out the window. I cleaned the bed and gathered our things before setting out for the food court. Ath got his bitter pokemon nuggets, and I took some pancakes and maple syrup oozing over it all(honestly, stereotypes are sometimes true). "What was it?", the fire type demanded once again. I took in another morsel of the fluffy bread with a shrug, "Dunno, I forgot about it." "Quit lying, you know you remember."

"Sorry, I don't."

_"Gold."_

"It's a closed discussion, I don't want to tell you."

_"Athony."_

I raised an eyebrow at him, I thought he disliked calling me that because of his similar nickname. "Why won't you just tell me-" "I clearly said this is a damn closed discussion. I kindly request you mind your own fucking business." My voice carefree turned quietly cold and seeped with the highest of poisonous venoms out of every word. I paid for the bill at the edge of the table and proceeded to exit the PokeCenter. Honestly, I was just mad at myself and I didn't want to take my anger out on Ath.

I found an isolated, leafless tree to rest under using my bag as a pillow for my aching head (thank god 'mom' packed painkillers). I lazily gazed over to ladybugs craweling in the grass, my fingers twirling around the browning blades. _I may not have been acting too rational. No wonder I can't work well with others. Huh? What's that? _The scent of smoke reached my nostrils, I directed my attention to the ground where my hands played and blinked with confusion at the embers brushing the pads of my fingers. Normally, you'd expect me to start screaming about my hands being on fire, but... it didn't burn. It was almost as if I was the one making it. I formed a fist, and the flames just disappeared, leaving behind a few charred blades. "How peculiar... I wonder..."

_How am I able to do such a thing? I'm definitely not hallucinating, but it doesn't make sense... _"Gold! Wait up!" The pokemon scampered up to me, nearly out of breath. He huffed, "Oi , you're fast! Try not to run off like that, I don't wanna get kidnapped by some theives." I laughed nervously, "Heh, sorry. I'm not that good at controlling my temper." He turned away and coughed awkwardly, "Yeah, well... Sorry about being dick, I shouldn't have brought up whatever it was." An apology was the last thing I expected, especially from him. Nonetheless, I took the upper hand on the situation, "Thank you for being the bigger person, I'm grateful." Ath puffed and began to walk off.

"Whatever."

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**Awesome, this came out much better than what I had on paper. For some reason, these chapters take so long to type, prolly because I'm not even using a computer. (sigh) I wished my computer worked, I could get these up so much faster. Anyways, thanks, danke, arigato, (whatever you prefer) for reading this chap-chappy, and farewell.**


	5. Chapter 4: The Blue Phantom

**I wish these chapters didn't take so long to type, but hopefully, I'll live. I have to do crazy English homework, even on weekends, so that sucks. Hey, at least being a fanfic writer helps in some areas. "( -_-)b**

**_DISCLAIMER: I haz a cookie, but I don't haz da Pokemanz._**

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We passed the major buildings until we reached a towering, shrine-like structure. "What's this place? Looks like someone'd have a sacred sacrifice ritual here." I took my first step inside, "Sprout Tower, the sages here all use grass types." Ath jumped out of my arms and got extremely psyched, "Brilliant, I'll cream these trainer wannabes. Let's go!" He scampered up to the ladder by the swaying pillar and hopped up the bars. _God, he's enthusiastic. How does he remind me of myself again? _I was about to follow him, but a flash of red was caught by the corner of my eye. I looked to see the moving object, but was met with a wall. _My mind must be playing tricks on my, I thought that was- _"Yo, wacky psycho! Hurry up!", Ath yelled impatiently. I shook my head, returning to the ladder, _Weird, I'd thought he'd be ahead._

On the second level, my eyes met with that of a sage's. His two Bellsprouts and Weepinbell barely made my mouse lift a finger, raising his arrogance("Suck it, you can't beat me!"). By the time we were on the fourth floor, he couldn't stop gloating, "At this rate, I'll evolve and kick ass twice as hard!" "Amazing, maybe your modesty level will evolve too."

Just as we neared the last ladder, a dark cloud surrounded us. "The hell's going on?! Are you doing this, Gold?" "No, if I wanted to prank you, I'd throw you in a cold bath." The midnight blue gas ceased swirling and formed a dark violet sphere at the center with large, menacing eyes. "A Gastly?", Ath questioned, "But they're not blue..." "A shiny, interesting.", I muttered. She shivered slightly, yet spoke with an assertive voice I knew was forced, "State your business!" _My first wild encounter, and she's a shiny. Nate wouldn't believe this... _

"My name is Gold, I'm a trainer. My pokemon, Ath, and I want to challenge the tower's Elder.", I politely explained to her. She made a strange face, like she was making a decision, "I was right, you can hear me... I demand that you take me with you." Ath growled, "Hold it, why do we have to do that?" The Gastly was startled, "Um, if you do not do as I say, I will curse you for a hundred years!" _She seems to be lying..._

"No.", I announced firmly. She scowled at me, "Why?" A tiny smirk spread across my face, "That is, if you want to be apart of my team, we're going to do this properly. What do you say, Ath?" The Cyndaquil beside me perked up, "Hell yes, maybe this'll actually be a challenge!" "Very well, come at me with all your power.", the poisonous ghost huffed. "Ath, use Smokescreen."

The flames on his back emitted grey clouds that surrounded the area, I could faintly see the Gastly's eyes water. She aimlessly flew and sent out a small beam that reflected off the walls and back to her, causing her some sort of dizzy self-infliction. _Confuse Ray, I guess._ "Finish her off with ember.", I commanded the Cyndaquil. Ath shot the Gastly with a small burst of fire, resulting in her easy defeat. Without hesitation, I snatched a capsule from my belt and chucked it at the poison type? The pokeball began to shake, Ath still stood in an offesnive position, expecting the pokemon to escape. The ball ceased moving, the faint *click* sound came, signaling our victory. The fire type groaned, "She wasn't even that hard to beat!" As I picked up the pokeball, I returned Ath to his own, "Don't be rude. Take rest, you look tired."

I released the Gastly from her confinement and gave her a welcoming smile, "Would you like to have me call you Gastly, or a name of your choosing?" "My name is Yami, despite people calling us by groups, we have our own individual names.", she explained. _That's interesting! I wounder what Ath was called._

"Alright Yami, now that we're partners, why don't you tell me why you wanted to leave the tower?" She shifted her eyes away from me nervously, staying silent. "Maybe... It's because you don't like it here, because you're different?" She glared at me for a moment before speaking, "You're... Much more perceptive than most humans." "I've been told." "I see. So tell me, how are you able to speak to me?", she asked. "I'm sorry, this place is too open to tell you at the moment. I promise to explain later." Yami had no objections, "Fine, but I do expect a valid reason." "Of course. Take this potion first, I think Ath went a little overboard." After letting her sip some violet medicine, we pressed onward and defeated the three sages in our way. For not being too strong, Yami showed quite a lot of power with her Confuse Rays, Thunder Punches, and Curses.

As we finally passed the sawing pillar once more, we finally came into view of the Elder. "So good of you to come here," he greeted me, "Sprout Tower is a place of training, people and pokemon test their bonds to build a bright future together. I am the final test, allow me to test the ties between you and your pokemon." "Alright, you're up Yami.", I told the ghost type. She took her place on the field as the old man sent out a tiny Bellsprout. "Bellsprout, use Vine Whip!", the elder shouted. The grass pokemon charged at my Gastly with its arms ready to strike, but missed narrowly. "Yami, Confuse Ray." She was quick to react and hit her target spot on, causing the Bellsprout to stumble around. "Try out a Thunder Punch." She rammed into him with and invisible hand filled with electricity, it was over for the poor grass type. "Mm, I see.", muttered Elder Li. He returned the creature to his pokeball and sent out a Noctowl.

Before the bird could even blink, I gave Yami her orders, "One more Thunder Punch." None of her effort was wasted, her hit seemed to be critical as she KOed the Noctowl. I returned Yami to her pokeball, praising her as well, "You did well." I sent out Ath, the elder chose a Weepinbell. "Weepinbell, Vine Whip" The oversized plant came charging at the Cyndaquil, but that left his center wide open. "Ath, Ember now!", I immediately shouted. He perfectly struck his foe with his flames, ending the battle.

The elder's eyes widened as he returned his pokemon to its capsule, "Amazing, the way you battle is very elegant! You definitely have what it takes to stand up to Faulkner, wish you good luck for future challenges." _Looks like I don't get TM70. Oh well, it was good experience. _"Thank you, it was fun challenging you sir," I told the elder before turning to Ath, "Come on buddy, let's go to the PokeCenter." The two of us walked out of the area behind the pillar, that's where I found my rival eyeing me with suspicion and a faint drop of fear. I waved, giving him a grin as I passed by, "Hi Silver, good luck." I wanted to laugh at how perplexed he was, but I suppressed the urge. I let Ath head down the ladder before I went. "Wait," the ginger called out, "You're not going to turn me in?" I shook my head with a knowing smirk, "I don't know what you're talking about."

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**This chapter wasn't too bad, but whatever. I've gotten a shiny Gastly before (along with Staravia and Snivy), so I thought it'd be cool to get that in there. Speaking of Snivy, I want the new Pokemon game so badly, but it's so expensive! (sob) Oh well, someday... Anyways, I thank thee for reading, have a nice day of poffins full of nourishment.**


	6. Chapter 5: Apologetic Venom

**I've been a bit busy, so I haven't really updated anything for a while. I've got a new notebook where I'm keeping all my stories and plans for them, so things shall be organized and it will help me with quicker updates I think. I also want to mention (I keep forgetting to) that this story will include somethings from the Pokémon Special mangas and a few things from the anime when it was good (I don't like Rival Destinies or whatever the new season is called, I thought it could be better and I miss Brock) in the story incase you get confused on any odd details not really game-verse related. Aaaanyways, please enjoy this chapter.**

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By the time we were out of the tower, it was about three in the afternoon. There were almost _thirty_ floors in Sprout Tower that should have taken at least forty minutes to get in and out, not counting all the sages we had to battle, with at least two or three on each level. After healing my Pokémon, I decided we wouldn't take on Faulkner until tomorrow. This obviously upset Ath, but I wanted to tell him and Yami my plan. Besides, I still had to explain my situation to our little friend. She was accepting of my tale and seemed to be okay with it, though something she said bothered me.

"I should have known you were strange, what with that odd... thing you have over your head." Ath nearly fell off the bed as he jumped up and down with excitement, "So you see it too? I didn't want to say anything before because I thought I was going nuts!" "What are you two talking about?", I asked, feeling quite confused. The Gastly thought deeply, 'Well it is not exactly a glow... but I am not sure what it is. Above your head is a shadow like halo filled with darkness, though it feels like it somehow emits a strong light. It's... really not that easy to explain." "Yeah, I see the same thing. If I look into it for a while, I see a ton of stuff. Good and bad things. It's actually why I thought you were some kind of demon or dark angel," the Cyndaquil gave a small chuckle, "You definitely fit the title in my book."

I let a playful smirk grace my lips, "Dark angel, huh? I'm not evil, but I wouldn't say I'm all that good either." "Crazy, but true. Now what was that about not challenging the gym?" "We'll go tomorrow, I promise. I was thinking that I would make sure Yami is more prepared for the gym." The poisonous ghost seemed to take my idea as offensive, "Wh-what are you getting at?"

I shook my head, "No need to overreact, what I meant to say is that you have strength, but I just want to help you learn how to use it more efficiently." "Yeah, because when you went up against me, you barely even put up a fight.", Ath exclaimed. We both ignored his comment and continued on with the subject. "I suggest that you and I go around Route 30 near the Ruins of Alph and go up against a few wild Pokémon. They're a bit more powerful than you, but I think we'll be fine. Is that okay with you." The ghost approved, "Yes, of course."

_Later that night..._

After a successful Thunder Punch landed on the foe Spearow, it fainted with not much trouble. Yami beamed with glee, "I believe I did much better that time, I feel like you brought out some of the potential I have." "I wouldn't exactly put it that way," I shrugged, "All I did was give you a little push in the right direction." There was a small huff in response, "You really are too modest, at least take _some _credit." "We-Ah!" Some large mass of weight slammed into the back of my head, causing me to fall forward. My forehead came into contact with a rock, soundly knocking me out."

v(-_-)v

When I came back to conciousness, I could hear Yami and Ath bickering loudly, my forehead stung and what I suspected to be blood made a trail down the side of my face. _Why am I so prone to head injuries? __Oh god, my head is pounding from those two and their fighting. _With a gruff groan, I sat up against the pine tree behind me. I expected to see my Pokémon in front of me, but instead I found a pale Haunter with glowing azure hands and a slim Quilava, his flames were blazing vividly. "See? He's fine, nothing to worry about!" "He is bleeding you idiot, he is _not _fine!", the female ghost argued. I frowned grumpily, _Th__ey evolved? That's unfortunate, they were my first Pokémon too. _I quickly got past my depressing moment and turned to the current conflict, "May I please ask you two to end your quarrel and explain what the _hell happened _while I was unconscious?"

I could just feel that Ath was tempted to make a crude comment, but the unique Haunter had a quicker tounge, "I am sorry for all the trouble, you were hit by a wild Pokémon. I wasn't too sure of my own ability and managed to get Ath out of his Pokeball to help. We weren't doing so well and resorted to chucking an empty Pokeball at the Pokémon and that seemed like a good solution. After that there was a bright light and we changed our forms." The reminder of missing such an event made the corners of my mouth twitch downward, "I feel disappointed in myself as a Pokémon trainer now." "You sound like a little kid when you say that, and you being sentimental creeps me out enough," the fire rodent complained, "Besides, you've got a new Pokémon, so don't pout."

I looked over to the capsule he motioned to, I clutched it and released the beast inside. With a carmine ray of light, a blue bat emerged, shivering uncontrollably. The Zubat took a look at me and gasped, "I m-made you bleed! I'm so s-s-sorry!" I was shocked at the girl's shaken apologies, I attempted to calm her down. "There's no need to worry, I'm used to getting hit in the head." "R-really?", she sniffed, "H-honestly, I'm sti- Wa-wait, you can hear me?!"

"Yeah, he can. He's also a smartass.", puffed the Quilava beside me. I shot him a glare before returning to the Zubat, "It's a long story..."

v(-_-)v

"Oh, I u-understand," the Pokémon known as Tesai replied to my explanation, "Now you're trying t-to get back h-home?" I started to talk again as Yami finished helping patch up my wound, "Yeah, I'm a Pokémon trainer, so that's fun, but I think it'd be better for me to stay were I'm really from if I can even get back. Oh, thanks Yami. I really don't want to mess up any natural balance or that sort of thing. Hey, are you guys alright?" Ath stuck his tounge out childishly (I assumed that translated to "Fuck off."), the shiny Haunter gave a tiny nod. "I-I'm still very s-s-sorry," Tesai cried, "I'll make it up t-to y-you, I promise!" I gave a warm and sincere laugh (a blue moon event), "That's good to hear, I like your enthusiasm. I think we should head back to the PokeCenter and heal you guys, you look tired." The three agreed and I returned them to their Pokeballs, not really wanting them to walk/float/fly in their condition. _I'm getting really attached to them. _I sighed softly, _I wonder if I can bring myself to leave them if I can get back home. Revenge isn't the only thing I have to worry about..._

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**Yeah, this chapter was a bit weird, but oh well. Don't worry, Gold/Athony isn't going to have a new Pokémon every chapter, the next one won't even be until around Azalea. He'll have a full team of six, but he won't switch out of the PC or anything, that would just make things hectic. So, thank you for reading, R&R or whatever you want to do, bye.**


	7. Chapter 6: Taking to the Sky

**Ugh, I feel so out of it, but I think it's just because it's Wednesday and I got that day off along with Thursday and Friday. I like having school off on weekdays, but I really hate it at the same time, I just feel really rushed because of that. Oh well, at least this chapter has the Violet City Gym (Fina-freaking-ly), so there's that. Enough of this strange guy's ramblings, start the chapter already, man behind the curtain!**

**_DISCLAIMER: (laughs) Hahaha, oh, you're a funny person. No, just no..._**

* * *

I awoke from a dreamless slumber (and no further brain damage) the next morning. I took my sweet time getting ready, mostly to tease the Quilava eager to challenge the gym. Emphasis on eager.

"Are you ready?"

"No."

"Now?"

"I'm bruthin' mah teeph."

"How about now?"

"Not yet."

"... Now?"

I (along with Tesai and Yami) shot him a dangerously annoyed glare from across the food court table, "I would strongly advise you to be quiet due to the fact I'm feeling murderous at the moment."

"... So how about them flying Pokémon?"

"Er, a-are you okay, Gold?", asked the poisonous bat as I returned the fire mouse to his Pokeball. "Ath is an idiot, always remember that Tes.", I informed her, trying my best not to lose my temper. After breakfast, we abandoned the Pokémon Center in favor of going to the Violet City Gym. "A-are you sure w-we're ready to do th-this?" "Don't worry," I reassured the Zubat, "We're more than ready; I have a plan."

We let the wooden platform rise and twist under us. The air was thin on the high beams leading up to Faulkner's mat. To be honest, I wasn't as excited as I thought I should have been, but it did feel as though I had just risen to a whole other level by just being in the building. I looked down with a wary smile. _That'd be a long fall, I should remember to keep my balance. _As cautious as I could be, I edged across the beams with my arms out to keep me from tilting over. Without too much difficulty, I arrived to my destination. I called out to the cerulean haired male who sat indian style with his Pidgeotto, "Hey're you Faulkner?" "Yes", he replied with a light tone, "I'm the Gym Leader of Violet City. Are you here to take on the challenge?" "Yeah, Gold from Newbark, nice to meetcha." He gave a tired sigh before getting up, "All right, let's do this."

His Pidgeotto took to the air, Tesai stood (or flew) her ground. "Pidgeotto, use Tackle!" The bird dove and prepared to strike his foe. "Tesai, Supersonic." The tiny Zubat let out a high shriek, the bird began to twitch and oddly fly around. "Great job, Tes," I returned her to her Pokeball and switch to my Quilava, "You're up, Ath. Use Flame Wheel." He let out a booming yell ("Whoooooo!") as he curled into a ball in mid-air and the embers on his back engulfed him as he hurled himself into the winged Pokémon. The mass of fire struck the Pidgeotto, but that also snapped him out of his confusion. "Pidgeotto Tackle one more time!", commanded the Gym Leader. The bird smacked into Ath harshly, causing him to skid on the wood beneath him. "Try using Ember.", I calmly suggested to him. He allowed flames to gather in his mouth, then unleashed them on to the Pidgeotto who fell to the platform. Faulkner praised his fallen Pokémon before switching out, "Go Spearow, use Wing Attack!" With a slap of the bird's wing, Ath was easily knocked out. _I'm not going to hear the end of this._ "Good work, Ath. Go for it, Yami." Faulkner arched a brow at the unusual Haunter, "Ghost against Normal? Huh, interesting. Spearow, Wing Attack again!" Before the bird could ready his assault, I gave Yami her orders, "Thunder Punch." With both her blue, electrified fists, she plowed into the Spearow and soundly took him out. The Gym Leader's eyes were wide, like he'd just seen an elephant eat a lion. "That was surprising," he returned the bird with a small thanks, "But a defeat is a defeat." He strode over to us, handing me a silver, squared wing badge, "This is the Zephyr Badge. There are Pokémon Gyms in cities and towns ahead, make good use of them." "Thanks, I will." "As for your next move," he suggested, "I think Azalea Town would be a good challenge for you."

v(-_-)v

"Now I understand why Ath was so excited," Yami giggled as we strolled out of the gym, "That was very enjoyable." "Yeah, he defin-" _Ring! Ring! _I glanced at my Pokegear, "Oh right, it's Professor Elm. Hello?" "Hello, Gold? We've discovered something!", came the Pokémon researcher's voice. "What is it?" "The details are... well, I can't really explain it, but we want you to carry that egg." "Oh, okay. I can do that." "My assistant is at the PokeMart in Violet City, I'll call if any thing important comes up!" _Click!_

"They want you to carry an egg?" I shrugged, "I guess it couldn't hurt, the more, the merrier." We immediately set out for the PokeMart where a scientist sat at one of the kotatsu at front, "Long time no see, Gold. I've been waiting for you, this is from Professor Elm." He handed over the glass cylinder with the green splattered egg. "After you left, Professor Elm received a phone call, I have no idea what they were talking about, but after a while, he suddenly cried out, "I can't think of anyone more suited than Gold!" Then he insisted I hand this egg to you, it seems that a Pokémon will hatch from it." "Okay, I'll take care of it." After the scientist left, Yami and I stocked up on supplies; we planed to leave town in a few hours. We exited the mart, but a girl in a kimono walked up to me with a determined look in her eyes, "Me oh my... That egg must be..." "Huh?", I pretended to copy my Haunter's confused expression, doing quite well. "I see", the girl whispered, "So it was handed from Mr. Pokémon to Professor Elm, then from Professor Elm to you. Now I get it... That egg is truly an important egg. Please take care of it for me, is that understood?" I gave an awkward nod, "Um, okay, I understand." She gave a light smile before disappearing into the crowd of people, "I'm counting on you."

* * *

**Not too bad, I guess. Oh god, I'm so hungry now, my mom's making a crap load of food now and I've only eaten piece of toast (it's almost 3 pm). Oh well, I'll just have to wait, at least my tummy isn't making the rummblies that only hands can satisfy. For those of you who don't know, a kotatsu is a Japanese table with a sort of blanket skirt often used in the winter. I want one, they look so comfortable, sadly I don't live in Asia. Whatever, thank you for reading and don't forget to smash a pie in someone's face! **


	8. Chapter 7: Two-Faced

**Hey, I'm back once again. A bit short, but I really like this chapter. And before I get any rabid fangirls on my case, no, there aren't going to be any pairings (at least, not in the first story of this series). It seems a bit like it, but it's not, I don't think I'm that good with romance anyways (says the Pisces). So, yada yada, end of rant, let's get it on.**

**_DISCLAIMER: Satoshi is in my alias, but Tajiri is_**_ not._

* * *

Union Cave was much larger than I expected it to be, it took us a few days to get though. We took a couple wrong turns (I have a horrid sense of direction, don't even get me started on Rock Cave) and got a little lost (again, don't get me started), but we were fine. Tesai and Yami liked camping out in the dark, moist cavern, and Ath obviously had his complaints ("Dammit, my flames keep going out!"). I was indifferent about the setting, I was really only worried that my eyes would be pained at sunlight since they'd adjusted to the darkness.

"I th-think we're almost o-out.", the young Zubat sighed. "Finally," Ath whined, "This place has been ticking me off." "Everything ticks you off.", Yami and I recited in unison. The fire rodent merely let out a puff of smoke and trudged on. _I'm so tired, I wish Ath would have just shut up last night about the damn gym battle. _"S-So what are we going to do n Azalea?" "Oh, there's a gym that focuses on bug types there, we'll also do some stuff in a well, you guys'll like that..." "Another wet place? Godammit!", my Quilava cursed. "You are such a drama queen.", Yami giggled. Ath ignored her in favor of grumbling to himself about "stupid ghosts".

We came closer to the sound of rainfall as the cave got brighter. Within minutes we were at the exit hole, but I didn't feel like leaving just yet. I plopped down near the exit with a sigh, "Let's rest before heading out, I'm exhausted." "What? But we've been here forever!" I shot my starter an icy glare, "Oh? So you'd rather go out in the rain? I have the umbrella, Yami and I are the only ones with opposable thumbs. I doubt we would want to help you, seeing as you _have _been getting on our nerves the past three days." He opened his mouth to speak, then closed it; he knew better than to take me on in a battle of wits. Tesai settled on my hat, Yami took to laying on the floor, and Ath reluctantly curled up on the ground beside me. It was nice to relax for once and listen to the rainfall outside, no arguing, no psychos, just peaceful balance. I caught a glimpse of the two Pokémon at my side napping, it seems I wasn't the only tired one.

Small, echoing footsteps broke my thoughts, getting closer to our site each second. A certain thief appeared, looking as grumpy as ever. "Oh, you're here.", he groaned. It ws clear he hadn't slept for a while, his eyes were a bit unfocused from the darkness too. I waved over to him, "Hey Silver, wanna join us?" He shrugged, probably just to tired to even care as he sat across from me, using the rocky wall to support himself. "What do you want?" "Nothing," I told him sincerely, "Just thought you wanted some company." He rolled his eyes, running a hand through unkempt strands, "So why didn't you turn me in to the police? And don't tell me you don't know what I'm talking about, you know I stole that Pokémon." A soft smile cracked on my face, "After we both have Azalea's badge and you can beat me in battle, I'll tell you." He seemed skeptical, arching a brow with suspicion, "That's it? No tricks involved?" "No tricks, I always keep my promises." I don't understand why, but it felt right to speak so openly with him, like he was an old friend. Or rival, in my case.

"Hmph, you say that like it's a challenge.", he laughed sarcastically. "I don't know, the last time we fought was almost a week ago. A lot can happen in a week." The ginger rolled his eyes once again. I reached into my pack and pulled out two Sudowoodo shaped chocolate bars, offering one to my rival. Silver gave me a bored stare, "What, now I'm a charity case?" "Relax," I laughed, "I'm just being nice, you could learn about that too, you know." "Whatever.", he mumbled, snatching the treat from my hand. "So what have you been up to?" The Pokemon thief seemed surprised by my question, "Since when did we become buddies?" I shrugged, "I'd say we're more like rivals, but buddies would be nice." "You're a wierd kid.", he scoffed. I gave him a goofy grin, "I get that a lot. You're pretty weird too."

He stood, brushing the non-existant dirt off his jeans, "Whatever, I'm going to challenge the gym and beat you later. See ya." Without so much as batting an eye, he walked out into the rain, getting visibly soaked to the bone. I let out a puff of breath at the boy, "He could've just waited until the rain stopped. He's so weird."

v(-_-)v

I let Yami and Ath nap in their Pokeballs so that I didn't disturb them. Tesai took refuge under my black parasol, drops of water softly splashed on the smooth plastic. "S-s-so that Silver guy is y-your rival? He s-seemed really m-m-mean t-to you." "He's not that bad, he's just not a good social communicator as far as I can tell."

"-Team Rocket!... What? We broke up a while ago? Give me a break, We have not broken up!"

A mysterious stranger clad in black was yelling at an old man by Slowpoke Well. _Oh yeah, that's a thing that happens._ After the grunt finished his rant, he pushed the man who then ran into town. "H-Hey, wh-why'd he do th-that?" "He's part of a villanous group," I informed my ally, "I think we should just get this done with now so we can get to the gym quickly." Tesai and I walked up to the Rocket lackey. "Could you move out of the way? I've got business to take care of in that well." "Oh yeah?", sneered the grunt, "What's a scrawny little dork like you gonna do about it?" I crossed my arms with a disappointed sigh, "Fine, I guess I'll have to do this the hard way..."

v(-_-)v

"... And that's only if your tounge isn't split in two and severed from the inside of your mouth." The criminal shook in his boots, his facial muscles twitching as well, "Oh holy crap..." "So if you _don't _let me pass, that's exactly what will happen to you, got it?" Within seconds, the Team Rocket grunt hightailed it into the well. My Zubat paled, "You wouldn't really d-do that, r-right?" I shook my head, "I'm hostile, but I only act in self-defense if the need arises. Come on, let's head in." "O-Okay." I put my umbrella in my bag (I got wet, but I didn't mind too much), then we descended down the ladder. We were met with chilly air and a musty, moss like aroma. "From what I remember, the guy running this operation is down here, I doubt he'll bu much of an issue though."

v(-_-)v

The sound of arguing voices got clearer as we delved deeper into the cavern. "There he is! Th-that's the kid!" The lackey from earlier cowered behind a man with oddly styled electric turquoise hair. He glared at me, eyes full of venom that failed to intimidate me, "You were frightened by this runt? He doesn't even look remotely threatening." "It's kind of rude to talk about people like that when they're right in front of you," I said with a frown, "And it's also a bad habit to judge a book by its cover." The Rocket Executive didn't seem too pleased by my comments, "Let's just take care of this before it becomes and issue." Both villans sent out their Pokémon, a Zubat and Rattata. I sighed, "Two against one? That isn't very fair. Oh well, what else can I do?" I sent out Ath and Yami, both were already ready to battle. "Yami, Thunder Punch on Zubat. Ath, Fire Wheel on Rattata.", I commanded them with my quick tounge. They dished out their strikes with lightning speed, easily defeating both opponents. The grunt dropped to his knees in shock, obviously having no other Pokémon to battle when Proton sent out a Koffing and Raticate. "Raticate, Hyper Fang! Koffing, Smog!" The gaseous Pokémon's pollution narrowly missed the ghost, she took her chance to swipe at her enemy and take him out. Ath however was bit by the brown rat, but he was thrown off and hit a lumpy rock wall with a harsh thud. Proton gapped at his ally's demise, unable to comprehend what had just happened. As both trainers returned their fallen Pokémon to their capsules, my expression and voice took a horrifying, ice filled tone, "I would strongly recommend you to take your pitiful group of thieves and criminals, leave the Slowpokes alone, and leave this town before I decide to just get rid of you myself. Trust me, I can be a fairly unpleasant character if provoked." The spooked lackey, completely mortified by how demonically pissed off I was, escaped with his tail between his legs. The Executive gave me a word of advice before evacuating as well, "Small obstacle like you won't pose a problem for our plan, be very afraid of what's to come!"

"Holy shit, you look like you could kill an Ursaring.", Ath gasped. My joking personality came back with my light chuckle, "Heh, I must have a strong sense of justice." He gave a hearty laugh, "Ha ha, oh bullshit." "I th-thought it was brave o-of you.", Tes giggled. I motioned towards the way out with a small smile, "Let's go heal you guys and check in at the PokeCenter, I want to try taking down Azalea's Gym today."

* * *

**(laughs) Oh god, I would not want to get into a fight with Athony/Gold (and I know self-defense very well). He's still a good guy, just don't get him mad. I hope you guys are okay with how I write battles, I'm still really new to it. I know they go by quickly, but they'll be longer as they all get stronger (I'm a poet and didn't know it, 'cuz I rhyme all the time.). I honestly had to stop myself from typing Xana's Link's "Eye for an Eye Philosophy". ("You steal from me, and I poke your fucking eyes out.") (sigh) God I love that show. Anyways, enough of my randomness for now. Thanks for reading, have a nice day.**


	9. Chapter 8: Should've Seen This Coming

**Son of a Mexican penguin- WHY DOES IT TAKE SO LONG FOR ME TO UPLOAD ALL MY OTHER STORIES EXCEPT THE MOTHER 3 ONE? (sigh) Not sure, but since I kind of have that one out of the way, I can focus on other things, like this for example. Now, I hope you all weren't freaking out about the slow updates (actually, freak out, I'll have something to keep me entertained), so let's just get on into it.**

**_DISCLAIMER: I don't even own a copy of Black and White 2, even though I really should._**

* * *

_Ugh, I really don't like but-types. _I stepped off the rickety Spinarak and on to solid ground. _Hopefully, we won't have to deal with them much in Ilex..._ "Hurry up," Ath groaned, "I'm ready to kick some ass." "Calm down, we're almost there.", I muttered under my breath. The two of us made our way to the large platform surrounded by small saplings where Bugsy stood. "You're here for the gym challenge, right?", the kid asked. "Yup, I'm Gold, all the way from New Bark!", I announced, heavily using the best of my acting skills. "Well I'm Bugsy, I never lose when it comes to bug-type Pokemon..." I zoned out until the end of his mini speech, I really just wanted to get out of this tedious insect house already. Like I said before, I don't like bug types.

v(-_-)v

"Whoa, amazing," Bugsy marveled in shock and slight confusion, "You're an expert on Pokemon!" "Heh, not really.", I laughed with fake modesty. _If only this kid knew._ "My research isn't complete yet. Okay, you win, take this badge." After gladly receiving the Hive Badge and exiting the Azalea gym, my Quilava boredly groaned, "That was the most pathetic fight I've ever had." "You got that right, couldn't have said it better myself," I shamelessly agreed, "Let's go to the PokeCenter, it's already seven and you guys haven't eaten in a while."

v(-_-)v

_I returned to the "Black City" once more. Though I couldn't tell what, something about it seemed... Off. A change I did pick out was the smell. The air was rotten with the scent of decay, it was horrifying how fresh it was._

_"How nice to see you here."_

_I swiftly turned around, expecting to find the evil boy from before, but I was met with another instead. "You seem to be doing well in your journey.", Benny laughed. There was something about him that was strange as well. He seemed to look slightly worn and not as full of energy as he had been before, as if he had pulled an all-nighter on an essay. "What do you want?", I demanded, now being able to speak clearly. "I just came to congratulate you on another victory, is that really so wrong?" "After what you've done? Yes. What do you really want?" As I expected, I didn't receive a straight forward answer. It wasn't even an answer either, it was a question._

_"Do you ever think that what you're doing might cause your own end?"_

v(-_-)v

I groaned indolently at the light streaming through the one window in the room, there was a light weight on my stomach I suspected to be Ath sleeping peacefully. _Ugh, well _that _was really pleasant. God, it's too early in the morning to deal with this. _Tired eyes lazily traveled around the room until they finally landed on the nightstand where the egg container sat. The broken egg container. That was empty.

_... Crap._

I sat up quickly, "Ath, I- Huh?" I was expecting a cranky Quilava to be on my lap, instead I found a light yellow puff-ball. _What the- Is this supposed to be the Pokémon from the egg? _Though Tesai and Yami were still snoozing on a plush chair, there was a sleepy moan from the floor as Ath used his little arms to climb up the mattress. "What is it? I'm trying to... What the fuck is that?" He blankly stared at the object on the sheets, most likely too tired to even raise his voice. "Um, I don't... know..."

Carefully, my finger prodded the soft fuzzball. I quickly retracted when it began to yawn. It slowly uncurled until he was in an upright position, then the small Pichu began to talk. "Huh? Oh, hi there...", he greeted us cheerily. The Quilava slurred slothfully, "So who are you?" "My name's Yori," the Pichu said, "Nice to meet you." "You came from that, right?", I inquired, pointing to the broken container. "Yup! Sorry there's a ton of glass everywhere, it was really stuffy in there, so I broke out." _If he's supposed to be a baby, how can he talk so much? Well, this is a video game, and I frankly don't care to much to figure it out too much, it's too early to think. _"That's okay, I can just clean it. Let me get dressed so we can go get breakfast."

v(-_-)v

Once settling the confusion over breakfast, we discovered Yori was indeed the egg Pokémon (thoguh that was obvious from the beginning). When telling him my situation, he seemed to be more than happy to be more that happy to be able to travel with us. After eating, we decided to train for a while around Union Cave, I thought it would be a good idea, and no one had any objections to it. Things went well, aside from the occasional Volt Tackle to the gut (I'm staying away from water more than usually for a while). We decided to head out for Ilex Forest after lunch so that we could get to Goldenrod as soon as possible.

Down at the exit gate, I could easily spot certain red-head boy leaning on a wooden signpost. "Hey Silver! I got the Hive Badge yesterday, "I said energetically, "What about you?" He looked up at me with analytical eyes and stood up straight, "... Tell me something. Is it true Team Rocket has returned?" "Huh? You mean those guys in those weird black outfits that were cutting off Slowpoke tails?", I said confidently, "I told them to stop and they just left." The thief gave me a suspicious leer, then laughed sarcastically, "What, _you _beat them? Hah, quit lying. Are you serious?" "Yup, they didn't put up much of a fight though." He retrieved a pokeball from his pocket with a devious smirk, "Then let's see how good you are."

He released a large Zubat from the pokeball, and since Yori was already out with me and was prepared to fight, I had the upper hand. "Zubat, Wing Attack!" "Use Thundershock, Yori." The poison type was swiftly struck by a shot of electricity shot him down, instantly paralyzing him. "Thundershock once more." And just like that his first Pokémon was out. Angrily, Silver switched out for a frightful Gastly, "Use Nightshade!" The ghost quickly unleashed a veil over the tiny mouse, having no trouble knocking him out. _Maybe it wasn't such a good idea to have Yori out front..._

Next up was Tesai, who seemed excited to fight. Silver tried to go for another attack, but a well place Confuse Ray and Wing Attack got the job done with no problems. _This is much better than our other battles against trainers. _Crocanaw wasn't too difficult, mostly becase he had a hard time trying to land a clean Ice Fang with my Zubat flying around erratically. Then Sliver took out one final pokeball. _He has another Pokemon? _His last resort was released from her capsule, revealing her to be a fierce Sneasel. _That's strange, I don't remembering having a Sneasel this soon. Must be a new addition. _With one use of Icy Wind, Tes fell to her weakness. _Well, that was a bad move on my part. Hopefully she's alright._ To end the battle, I brought out a certain moody Quilava who easily took out the thief's final Pokemon (while also shouting vulgar insults, of course).

Returning the ice type to her pokeball, he shot a cold glare my way, "Listen, you only won because my Pokemon were weak." "Don't be so hard on yourself," I laughed lightly, "You did really good, and I had a lot of fun too." The expression on the ginger's face seemed conflicted as to whether I was mocking it of just an idiot. He probably thought both were true. Silver turned away, heading to the forest. "Watch out for bugs, and see you later!", I shouted to him. He stopped and looked back for a moment, he then proceeded to roll his eyes and walk away out of sight. "What an asshole.", Ath scoffed. "He just has a few issues he can't solve, "I said, "Come on, let's go to the PokeCenter before we go for Goldenrod."

* * *

**Heh, obvious Pokémon is obvious. Yeah, kind of an odd chapter, but we'll just go with it. Ugh, I'm so tired right now. At least I'm listening to some guys playing Rayman to keep me entertained, now off to do some writing. Adiue. Adeei. Addu- Fuck it, bye.**


	10. Chapter 9: The Odd Tree Out

**Hey there guys. Yeah, I know it's been a few weeks, but bear with me here. I can confidently say that once we get to Ecruteak, thing's be mush more productive. That's when my favorite parts begin, I'll tell you why later, but what I do is pretty badass if I don't say so myself. I've also been a bit busy making new buddies (who woulda thought, the hostile, anti-social guy has friends, blasphemy!) and having a fuckload of homework due to upper level classes being a total bitch. Yeah. Excuse my rambling my randomness and vulgarity, I'm a bit sleepy and I'm catching up on Homestuck (****_just_**** got to the alpha kids). Ignore the dumbass behind the green curtain, and enjoy your chapter. Just do it man/girrrrrrl.**

**_DISCLAIMER: HAHAHA. Fuck no._**

* * *

"So... how are we getting through?", Ath asked, staring at the large sapling in the middle of our path, "Do you have something to chop it down, or... something?" "Yeah, it'll take a few seconds." I walked up to the little tree, putting my hand against the wood. I checked to make sure no one was around, then I let the trees burst into flames. Once I was sure the tree was charred enough, I dismissed the fire with little mental effort. "Okay, let's go," I sighed, nonchalantly walking over the ashes. Ath shook his head at me as he followed, "I'm not even surprised anymore, you just keep popping up with random shit around the corner."

v(-_-)v

The first day going through the Ilex Forest wasn't too bad, but my legs began getting sore from how much traveling we've been doing recently. We decided that we'd stay in the forest the next day (though I was reluctant, I only agreed due to Tesai almost bawling her eyes out, I'm too much of a gentleman to make a girl cry) and get in some training.

v(-_-)v

"I'm hungry.", said the child Pichu groaned, rolling on my stomach as I laid on the grass. I lazily stretched my hand out to my bag, my fingertips centimeters away from brushing a zipper. I let my arm fall with a sleepy moan, "Ugh, can't reach it." "Since when have you been so lazy?", giggled the Haunter hovering above. "Since last night, I was having some trouble trying to sleep." I inched over on the ground, sluggishly grabbing my bag to get out some food. "You guys want anything?", I yawned, pawing at the zipper. They all gave their approval, so I took out a few Oran berries for them. As soon as I held them out to my companions, something rushed past us and the fruit was gone. _What the hell? Was that a palm tree? _"Hey, that was ours!", Yori shrieked, "Come back here!" Within seconds, the tiny mouse was off to catch the thief. "Oh, son of a-Wait!", I used most of my energy to get up and jog to try catching up with my Pokémon. Doing my best to ignore the annoying buzzing of Beautiflies and Beedrils nearby, I found the young Pichu cornering a large Exeggcutor, who seemed to be frightened by his current situation. I slumped against a tree, doing my best to get some air into my empty lungs. "Hey Y-Yori, don't... don't run off like that.", I gasped, placing a hand on my forehead to fling away the swear I'd produced. Impulsively, Yori released an enormous burst of lightning to the plant Pokémon with all his might. I wearily glanced over to the unconscious Exeggcutor, then to the angered Yori, "Um, I think you were a bit quick on the trigger there. You did quite a number on him." "Oh, um...", he looked down shamefully, "I didn't mean to do that, I just got really mad..." I dug into my pocket, retrieving a Revive I kept on my person for emergencies and broke off a piece of the scone-like medicine. "That's all right, I don't blame you. That _was _very rude of him." I inserted the yellow medicine into one of the Pokémon's mouths, placing a hand on his jaw to help him chew and swallow. _Jeez, for a newborn, he's got a lot of raw power. This Exeggcutor won't even wake up for a while..._

Taking an empty pokeball from my belt, I touched it to his forehead, instantly capturing it. _It wasn't really fair, but it _was _a sort of battle... At least I've got a good grass type now..._

v(-_-)v

With a snap of my fingers, I had the campfire up and burning. Tesai and Ath picked out an easy poffin recipe from one of my books for us to make, so I thought it'd be a nice idea for lunch. I began dicing the Cheri Yami handed to me from a nearby tree, then I added them into the mix. I made sure to be absolutely careful not to spill the mix or let it burn as I stirred, I'm too much of a cooking perfectionist at times. "Son of a bitch!", exclaimed the shocked Quilava, nursing his hurt paw. "Then stop trying to put your hand in and wait till it's done.", I warned in a stern tone, retracting the end of the wooden spoon so I could return to my task. He went back inside the tent, still fuming about being hungry. _I need to work on his patience, he's better at handling it in battle._

I sensed the capsule at my side shaking erratically, it seemed the Exeggcutor was awake. Not wanting to have him confined, I released him from the pokeball. I expected for him to be mad or frightened, but he began laughing when he noticed my presence. "So you're the kid who caught me? I've got to give the guy some major props...", he seemed to be talking more to himself than me when he said that. "It wasn't that difficult," I said with a sly smirk, "My friends are quite strong." All three of the psychic palm tree's faces wore a puzzled mask, "Crap, it's like he know's what I'm saying. Oh great, I must've dropped that food when I was running..." "Don't worry, I've got a ton of Oran berries left in my bag if you want some. We can talk a little more over lunch."

I can't honestly say I didn't enjoy messing with the Exeggcutor, but what can I say, I'm just a snarky sadist. After Jex, as he calls himself, finished flipping out, we all explained to him our situation. He didn't really seem to be upset about being caught at all, much less concerned with my story. "I'm still impressed that you could catch me, a thief living in this forest for seven years," he laughed with a prankster's grin, "I'll tag along with you, you look like a pretty smart kid."

v(-_-)v

The next morning, we had no trouble packing up and heading out for Goldenrod. Everything was fine, besides Ath complaining that someone had spilled water on him during the night (it may have been my imagination, but I think I caught Jex laughing out of the corner of my eye). As we delved in further, I could hear a familiar voice, quietly singing to herself in a tune similar to "Kagome Kagome". "Kimono girl, kimono girl... Lost in the dark Ilex Forest..." Another woman in a Japanese festival outfit came into my sight, she sat on an anciently cut down log with a glum face. "Hey, I remember you from Violet City.", I called to her softly. She took notice of my appearance with a confused response, "What? You remember me from Violet City? You must be imagining things." "Huh? Oh, I must have mistaken you for someone else, my bad. Are you lost?", I asked, trying to ignore the Exeggcutor beside me ogling at the girl. "You will...? Aren't you lost in the forest as well? How do you know how to get out of here?" Before I could even get a word out, Jex jumped into the conversation (though he knew the kimono girl would not understand his words), "Don't worry babe, the way out's here!" He danced on over to one of the paths, motioning to the right way. _Oh right, I almost forgot this place was his home._

"Are you going to show me how to get out of here?", she cooed sweetly, "You are such a smart Pokémon! See you." With a smile and a wave, the girl pranced down the road by herself. "That was very nice of you.", I chuckled once the girl was gone. "What do you mean? I'm always nice, it's just the kind of guy I am." "Of course. Come on, we're almost at the city."

* * *

**And another chapter done. Now, I know what you're thinking, "Why does he have so many Pokémon already? Five before even getting to Whitney, that's crazy!". Well, the way I have this formated, it's much easier to have it like this. Don't worry about the last team member, he won't get her/him in the next chapter, but when they do join, I think that you will be most happy about my decision and their (chuckle) personality. So now, thank you so much for reading, leave a review if you're feeling generous, and have a fantuckingfastic day.**


	11. Chapter 10: I'll See You Again

**Son of a bitch, I have spent four hours doing trig homework. ****_Four hours._**** I kind of want to stab something right now, because I'm pissed about that. (looks at reader) Damn, can't stab you since you kind of read this, so that would be rude, and I'd prolly end up with a broken monitor again. Ugh, I'll just go find an old punching bag, have fun with the chapter.**

_**DISCLAIMER: "Hey Vegeta, what does the scouter say about this guy's chances of owning the Pokémon franchise?" "It's negative NINE THOUSAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAD! ... Percent." (oh god, someone shoot me now)**_

* * *

Exiting the PokeCenter with Tesai, I cringed at the constant honking of automobiles and the bustling groups of pedestrians in the streets. I hate cities. Too many people, too much noise, pollution everywhere, higher crime rates, I can't stand them. "S-So where are w-we heading now?" "We need to go do something before taking on the gym, but it'll be quick. We've done a bit of practice for the past couple of days, so I thought it would be okay to just go on in head first.", I explained as we drew near to the radio tower.

v(-_-)v

God, that quiz was for complete armatures. How does a trainer not know that normal type attacks don't affect ghost Pokémon? Oh well, being the nerd that I am, I had no trouble with the quiz at the radio tower and got the radio card I doubt that I would regularly use. Just as Tesai and I began to leave, a young girl with bubblegum hair stopped us. "Wow, you did it," she marveled with her headache inducing voice, "I thought the second one was surely dark and not normal. Oops! It's time to go back to the gym!" And with that, the peppy teen skipped away. "W-was she th-the g-gym leader?", inquired the quirky Zubat. I pinched the bridge of my nose, grumbling under my breath, "Unfortunately."

v(-_-)v

"Miltank, use Rollout!"

Lucky for Whitney, here semi-paralyzed cow was able to take out Ath in one hit. I retrieved the Quilava via pokeball, silently praising him. _Damn, I didn't think we'd have this much trouble. We're both down to one Pokémon and I'm sure that Miltank has no more uses of Milk Drink. Seems like I'll have to finish this quickly..._"Come on out, Tesai." With a red beam of light, the blue bat appeared, ready to fight. Dodging a massive boulder, I commanded her to try out an Air Cutter, utilizing Miltank's lower special defense to my advantage. "Air Cutter once more, Tesai." The great big cow was unable to move, giving me that free hit to take out her last Pokémon. _Great, that was-huh? _The tiny Zubat became engulfed into a shining light, her body molded into a different form. _She's evolving, that's wonderful. She's finally becoming... A Crobat? _The lights had died down, now revealing a purple bat with a double set of cerulean and violet wings. _How did this happen? She must be really happy to have me as her trainer..._

"Ugh... Waaaaah!", Whitney wailed. _Oh crap, she's actually crying! How do I deal with this?_ "Uh, are you okay?", I asked awkwardly. _What do I do? I've never made a girl cry! _"Um, h-hey, you don't have to cry! I actually had a lot of fun battling you, you were really hard to beat!", I frantically waved, having some issues trying not to panic. "R-really?", she sniffed. "Yeah, I totally mean it!", I used a lot of self control to keep me from vomiting at how idiotic I was acting. "Oh, well thanks I guess. Oh right, I forgot, here's the Plain Badge."

v(-_-)v

After leaving the gym, I decided to head for the bike shop. With a small portion of the large amount of pokedollars I've acquired, I was able to by the newest model that folds for convenient space and then pick up a Sprayduck bottle for when we leave. Looking at how tired the guys and girls seemed, I said we'd stay in the city for another two days, really telling them I was too tired to do more traveling. I can't look like to nice and soft of a guy, now can I? But as a little celebration of getting through the hell that was Whitney, I took them down to the large department store to stock up on ingredients of meals they wanted to make when we set up camp. I was glad Benny and that other kid didn't show up during our little break, though I feel a bit paranoid every time I lay down and fall asleep. Hopefully, they don't come back for a while, but I'm not sure what the chances of that are. Oh well, it's not something I can control.

v(-_-)v

I woke up early on the ninth, ready to get out of this city already. I didn't want to disturb my sleeping friends, so I returned them to their capsules so they could sleep a little while longer. Hopping on my bicycle, I headed out to the gate out of town. On the route clear of people at the moment, I could spot a stray Chikorita playing in the grass. I frowned, stopping the petals for a moment. _Nathan always chose Chikorita as his starter... How long has it been since I last thought about him? _I've actually been purposely avoiding that. I miss him, I can't deny that. I loved him as if he was my real blood relative, we've always been like brothers attached at the hip. It's been difficult not to be reminded of him, a lot of things in this very game world formed the unbreakable bond between us. But I knew better. I know what he would have done. He'd turn to me, wearing his genuine silly grin of his and lightly scolding me for worrying about him, he never did pay as much attention to himself as he did to me. Then he'd tell me to take care of myself and do whatever I could to get out of this world with what little sanity remained inside of the hell I call my mind.

I shook my head tiredly, beginning to cycle down the long road before me, "I should keep going, it won't do me any good to waste time like this."

* * *

**Punch your lights out, hit the pavement; that's what I call entertainment. Caus- Huh, oh sorry, just felt like doing a little karaoke. So yeah, I don't have much to say, but I really hope you enjoyed this chapter since it's 12:14 am the day I'm posting this, so you better like it! I'm merely jesting, you're allowed to like and dislike whatever you want, don't let others influence you're thoughts, especially me. Enough of my ramblings, please go on and enjoy the rest of your day.**


	12. Chapter 11: Fear

**Hellooo, I'm back. I haven't been able to play Soul Silver and get on my DS lately, but I've got enough material at the moment to post two chapters including this one. Anyways, there's a few things I want to go over because of some reviews I got and I feel a bit like a dumbass. First off is from Wiechcheu1925. I know about the evolution thing, but I tried (and failed) at giving it the effect that Tesai leveled up twice. She evolved into a Golbat, and then immediately evolved into a Crobat. She didn't skip the evolution, the lights just didn't fade when she evolved the first time, so you don't see her as a Golbat. Sorry if I sounded harsh explaining that in any way, but I feel kind of stupid for not explaining that in a better way. Next is from Navarre121. Yes, the Pokémon is named inside the egg, but if a trainer nicknames them, then that's their new name. Next topic, I know Athony doesn't have any of those disorders (well, maybe a bit bi-polar), but that was something else smurt little me didn't go over well enough. I was trying to make it seem like the doctors and therapists were just the kinds that wanted money and made up false things (not that I've got anything against doctors). He somewhat believed he had those disorders when he was younger, but he's done more research on them over the years, I would assume, so he now knows that he doesn't really have them. When he tells others he has them, he's mostly kidding and trying to confuse others (what he loves best), but a small part of him slightly believes it, but he's just being paranoid I guess. Also, I actually was thinking of using Midreavus instead of the Gastly family, but this was nearly a whole year before the Colosseum Let's Play (damn, it would have been hilarious too).**

**Okay, dear Godot! This is much too long of an intro, it's a few hundred words! Disclaimer, story, now!**

_**DISCLAIMER: It is not all mine, I don't have enough Rubbees.**_

* * *

Strangely, I approached Ecruteak City, but there was no "odd tree" to block my path. _I guess getting that Sprayduck was not needed. _I just shrugged and continued to ride into town. I locked my bike on a rack outside of the PokeCenter and checked in so that I would not have to do so later. Bill was not there either, but I wasn't that willing to go back to that big ball of pollution called a city for an Eevee. Several minutes later, my Crobat and I emerged from the building and out into the late afternoon. "S-say, wh-where are w-we going now?", she inquired. "Down to the dance hall, we've got something to take care of. Then tomorrow, since it's a bit late ford it now, we'll go check out the Burned Tower and take on the next gym, if we have time.", I said quietly, carefully noting all the things I saw as we passed by. I've always really like Ecruteak, it reminds me of a serene town you could only find in books and movies. Along with the cool, late fall and early winter weather, it fits wonderfully with the setting. Without all the people around, living in such a place like this wouldn't be too bad.

As soon as we pushed through the doors of the dance hall, an aggravatingly loud voice could be heard from inside. "HEY! HEY!" Up on the grand, wooden stage stood a calm kimono girl along with a swaying man who was clearly a lackey of Team Rocket.

"Stop dancing such a serious dance!", he slurred, "Show me something like a hula dance!" _God, I can smell the alcohol from here. It's disgusting... _I remember once, for some idiotic reason, _he_ and I tried underage drinking. The root of the dumb idea was from him, yet I still went along with it. He was somehow able to purchase a twelve pack, tequila, and a small bottle of vodka that was consumed by the two of us with little difficulty. I have absolutely no recollection of that night, but for whatever reason lacking any logic, I woke up on his bedroom floor wearing only a pair of boxers, a long black sock on my arm, and a white paper bag over my head. I was craving beef stew and I could not get the thought of melted marshmallows out of my mind. After searching for a few minutes, I found him in the bathtub half naked with a doodle of Earthworm Jim on his stomach (which I must have done) in Prussian Blue marker. Though we hd little memory of what happened, we both solemnly sweared to never drink any form of alcohol ever again.

"You mustn't push such a request on me., the kimono girl replied in a quiet yet firm tone. "Huh? Are you telling me yu don't respect what the customer wants?, he rudely shoved her to the side and began to drunkenly spin in place, "Well, then I'll show you how to dance. I'll show you a great one!" I rolled my eyes at the giggling dumbass on the stage, "God, I swear no one in Team Rocket has a single functioning brain cells. Let's go up there, Tes."

v(-_-)v

After soundly defeating the poor excuse for a criminal, he ran off like a coward. He was so pathetic that I sweeped him with Tesai alone. Afterwards, the young dancer came to speak with me. "You must be Gold, correct?", she asked. "Uh, yeah." "That was indeed excellent." I shook my head, "Not really, I was just doing what was right." "Kind and strong," the woman mumbled to herself, "Good at raising Pokémon as well... That person _does_ know what to look for in people..." I feigned innocence, tilting my head with false confusion, "Huh?" She noticed my prying on her ramblings, she raised her hands with a flustered look, "Ohoho, that was just me talking to myself! Nevermind." And with that, she was off to who knows where. "Wh-what strange l-lady.", Tesai hummed. "Yeah, I guess. Let's go out to train, I thought it'd be a good idea before going back to the PokeCenter."

v(-_-)v

We all decided to go around Route 42 to do a bit of training. I was bothered by being near such a large pond, but we still went. _Damn, I'm going to need some sort of water Pokémon, or else I'll be in quite a pickle... _After some good sparring, we were more an ready to take on Morty the next day. We took a break for a late lunch before we headed back into town. Earlier, I made few recipes I found in my books and put them in a medium sized basket for us to have. I sat uncomfortably close to the water, picking at my salami and pepperoni sandwich while the others happily munched on their poffins and PokeBlocks. "What's wrong with you?", Ath groaned, mouth filled with bitter poffins, "You look paler than usual." I shook my head, poking at my wheat bread, "Hm? Nothing. I must be tired. I will admit, I've been feeling a bit stressed lately, too." "Take it easy, kid," the Exeggcutor said, paying no mind to the young Pichu hiding in his leaves, "It'd sorta suck if you just started having blackouts." "Don't worry guys, I'll be okay. I can take care of myself, I _am _more capable than I may seem." I really hope so.", Yami muttered. Ath laughed lightly, "I bet-" Everything, including my Pokémon, froze in place. Leaves from autumn trees hovered in the air, and even the wind seemed to stop flowing. "What? Be-" The albino child appeared before me, his crimson eyes wide with fear. He swiftly raised a hand, then heavily brought it down s I was sent sailing backwards, right over the pond. I shrieked sharply as I plummeted into the freezing water effortlessly. I flailed my arms and legs hopelessly as fresh, ice-cold water entered my body and filled my lungs.

I don't know how to swim.

I clawed at my neck with a desperate force, feeling as though the pond was slowly strangling me. My insides felt as if they could burst at any second, burning away at my organs as my body sank further and further to the bottom. I began losing feeling in my limbs, the numbness soon took over and made them stiff. My mind was paralyzed, unable to form a single word in my head. I watched as miniscule bubbles escaped me, rising to the surface as my vision got darker. I was slipping away. I was sure that I was a goner, but... I spotted a large, dark shadow swimming overhead. Though I could not see clearly, I could tell something had reached into the pond and neared towards me. It harshly tugged on the back of my hood, water brushed past my body; I was being lifted to the surface. I greedily took in oxygen the moment I emerged from the pond. I was set down on the great, beautiful ground that seemed more inviting than it had before. Acidic vomit combined with water and my lunch escaped me violently, I continued to heavily heave for few more moments as my friends anxiously crowded around me. "Are you o-ok-okay?!", Tesai literally shouted. Yori bawled loudly, flailing his arms nervously, "You were sitting with us, then you vanished and we heard a splash, and you screamed, and then you were drowning!" I sat up, unzipping my jacket with trembling hands to allow better respiration. I spoke between sharp gasps, "I-I got pushed in. B-Benny just appeared, and h-he just pushed me in." I sat there with large eyes focused on the grass; I was terrified. If I had to say what my greatest fear is, it would probably be drowning.

"Are you sure you're all right?", Yami asked cautiously. I nodded, still unable to cease my shivering, "U-Uh huh, I'm okay." "Given your response, it wouldn't seem so.", a light voice called from behind. I tuned, now facing a grand, cerulean Pokémon that floated on the pond surface. "You nearly drowned to death," the Lapras calmly said, "I highly doubt you are in a stable state of mind at the moment." "Who-" "Sieg?! Is that you?!", Ath growled, glaring dangerously at the newcomer. "My, Theofrastous? How good it is to see you!"

At this point, I had nearly forgotten my near death experience, now occupied with this new matter. "Your name is "Theofrastous"?", Yami giggled tauntingly. "Shut the hell up! That isn't my name anymore!" The Lapras (Sieg?) picked the Quilava up by the scruff of his neck with a sigh, "Oh dear, your temper is as dreadful as always." "Godammit, put me down! I swear I'll kick your ass!" "You must learn to control your temper, especially when conversing with the opposite sex." "I don't give a fuck about that! Now put me down!" Jex, Tesai, and Yami were failing to contain their laughter while Yori and I were wondering what was even going on. "Wait, you two know each other, am I right?", I asked. The sea creature released his grip on the shouting mouse, bowing his head with a gasp, "Oh! Please forgive me, I have failed to introduce myself. I am Siegfried Sebastian Williams the second. And may I ask the names of Theofrastous' companions?" We all hesitantly gave our titles, Siegfried continued to ramble on, "Theofrastous and I have known each other for ages." "It's only been ten months, jackass!" "It was such a wonderful ten months spent together, how I wish it could have been longer. Though not too long ago, our trainer said he had urgent issues to attend to, though he did not give much information on the subject. Theofrastous was shipped off to a far away town, as were our other acquaintances, and I was left al alone in this cold, uncaring environment." "Stop acting like such a wuss, at least you didn't get mauled to death by an Ursaring like you should've!", Ath barked. "Why did you not ever mention having a different trainer?", the blue handed Haunter interrogated the fuming Pokémon. "It wasn't important, and it still isn't! The guy was an ass and this idiot is even worse!" "Oh, come now, Theo," Siegfried sighed, "Ryan was a very good trainer to us. He was quaint and secretive at times, but he always held our best interests at heart." "Whatever! Just stay away from me!", he angrily retorted,poking at his capsule on the blanket to be transferred inside. "Man, he sure knows how to throw a fit.", Jex mumbled to himself. "Sorry," I apologized to the Lapras, "Ath, or Theo as you call him, has been a bit aggressive lately. Also, thank you for saving me, I would have died if not for you. Is there any way I could possibly repay you?" "Oh, it was no trouble for such a polite young man. And if you don't mind me asking, may I join you to wherever it is that you plan to go? I will be honest, I'm concerned for Theo's well being, but that does not mean I will be a burden to you at all. I-" "All right, you can stay with us.", I informed him before he could continue his rant. "Really?! Oh, many thanks to you, Athony, I truly meant it; from the bottom of my heart!", the sea creature excitedly swam in circles, resuming with his nonsensical ramblings. _Just what have I gotten myself into?_

v(-_-)v

I didn't fall asleep too easily that night, I felt as though there was something I had forgotten. I laid in bed staring at the room, dimly lit by the faint amount of moonlight flowing forth from the window. Everyone but me seemed to be having pleasant dreams filled with wonder and happiness. Even Tesai and Yami were cozy on the recliner, they often tend to stay up for hours at night. Ath was curled at the foot of the bed over the covers as usual, hilariously enough, this is one of the few times he is ever quiet. Yori often changes his resting spots from sleeping in my arms, sprawled in the bathtub, or snoozing beside Ath. Tonight, he chose the latter of those areas. Jex and Siegfried resided on the floor, not making much sound either. _Well, at least they're okay._ The blinking of a white light caught my eyes, I forget that I set my Pokegear on silent at night so no one is disturbed. I took the wrist tech to search for the notification, there was a message from a sender labeled "C.R.", a title I've never heard before.

_[What did you notice about Siegfried that seemed odd? What didn't he do that the others did? Think about it. In time, you will come to understand. May you prosper through past and future.]_

I sleepily blinked my eyes at the bright screen. _Who is this? How does this person know this much? Is it Benny? Or someone connected to him somehow? _I quickly set in my response, still making sure my grammar and spelling was proper, despite being half asleep.

_[Who are you? What do you know?]_

I sat there for about ten minutes staring at the Pokegear before releasing a huff of warm breath and deciding to return it to the nightstand. I let my head sink into the pillow with a quiet sigh, "Fantastic, more bullshit I have to deal with." My eyes traveled to pick out the shape of the sleeping Lapras, arching a suspicious eyebrow at the Pokémon. _What did that mean? "What didn't he do that the others did?" I wonder... maybe this has to do with our first encounters. "What didn't he do..." What was odd that he didn't do? _I subconsciously caught the tip of my tounge between two canine teeth, trying my best to make sense of this riddle. _Well, I wouldn't say he was calm, but he didn't freak out like the others. He's much more flamboyant and cheerful than the others, but other than that... that's really all I can think of. That must be it then. _I curled my finger around a lock of hair, reminding me of this kid called Near from an Asian cartoon I once enjoyed watching. _But the real question is why; why wasn't he freaked out or surprised by me? Maybe I can talk to him in the morning, I still have to tell him my story and find out about him and "Theo". We haven't talked for long, bu-_ That's when I realized it, my eyes stretched into a frightened, horrified stare.

That was it. He talked to me. _He_ talked to me.

And yet he never questioned how _I _could talk to him.

* * *

**Well, fuck. The shit now hits the fan. Like I said, we're getting to my favorite part, but it's not for a couple more chappies. Oh, I changed the cover the other day, I like it more than the other one because the first one I made on an iPad and this new one was on an actual artist tablet. Anyways, thanks for reading, now go eat some ramen. Do it, I say!**


End file.
